Trampling Swine and Biting Dog: Feedbacks, When Not To Give

Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.

Businesses, small and big, local and multinational, all seek feedbacks from their staff, their suppliers, their business partners and most important of all, from their clients. They look upon feedback as part of their means to improve their business which would translate into profit. So, feedbacks are means to be more efficient, competent and leads to profit in every area of an organization or entity. Though feedbacks are requested by many organizations and entities only a few actually benefit from it. Why?

The quotation from the Bible, in Matthew 7:6 has the answer. Even though the Bible is a holy book, its language comes out strong in giving advice to us. The advice is, don’t give what are of value to unappreciative recipients as they would repay by attacking you. The descriptions used figuratively for unappreciative recipients are “dogs and swine.” The description that is used figuratively for what are of value is “which is holy and pearls.”

Dog-Like and Swine-Like Personalities

Dogs in relation to human beings are known to function as pets, service animals, therapeutic animals, show animals and food source. Swine has contributed to humans more as food source either in domesticated or wild form. Both the dog and swine have been useful to human beings. When two useful animals are used figuratively and negatively to describe unappreciative recipients of what is considered valuable, it indicates their loss of usefulness and value to themselves and other human beings. They develop the negative dog-like and swine-like personalities. What are negative, dog-like and swine-like personalities? They become useless and void of innate values in themselves and therefore unable to share with others. They develop unprovoked aggressive personalities whose behaviour is like a rabid dog. They hurt anyone who gets into their path in life. They develop coarse, dirty and lazy personalities that repel people socially.

Feedbacks to Dog-Like and Swine-Like Personalities

Feedbacks, whatever the form or subject matter, are considered valuable by the giver. What gives values to feedbacks is the right intention, the efforts exercised to propose solutions, the solutions themselves and the time invested in transmitting them. But, when, feedbacks are given to unappreciative recipients who have dog-like and swine-like personalities, the feedbacks becomes useless and results only in inviting personal attacks upon the giver. Here is an example of a real-life event that took place in a University.

Mr. X, a Caucasian psychological ethics lecturer, condemned and insulted the entire national ethics and ethical system of his host country in his lecture among a group of International students. One of his Asian International students gave him a private feedback, calling the condemnation and insult, as out-of-place and uncalled for, in an international class lecture. The lecturer became defensive and condemned and labelled his student as being aggressive and combative. To make the story short, the lecturer eventually misused his influence and position, to persuade some of the other faculty members to victimize the student covertly. After the turn of events, the student decided not to continue his further studies in that faculty upon his graduation.

Now, this is an example of the damage that a dog-like and swine-like personality can do in an educational institution. Not only did the university lose in terms of a bright student, it lost potential revenue of a returning student. But the real damage was that one unappreciative lecturer whose ego couldn’t accept a constructive feedback influenced a few others to become like himself: dog-like and swine-like personalities. Now, collectively, the involved faculty members have to overtly put on a show of respectability, rationalizing daily to drown-out their ethical conscience. They have lost their professional and ethical values and are useless in adding any values to their future students.

Dog-like and Swine-like Behaviours

Matthew 7:6 warns that giving anything of value to unappreciative recipients will result in unappreciative behaviours, akin to trampling of a swine and biting of a dog. Literally speaking, try spreading pearls in the path of a swine. As an animal that doesn’t know and care about the value of pearls, it will just trample and shit over it. Try feeding a rabid dog. In its rabid madness, it will turn and bite the hand that feeds it. When dog-like and swine-like personalities have no sense of appreciation, they will be deficit of perceiving anything of value. Thus, their reactions would be to trample, to bite and to shit over the giver and the giving of anything of value.

When Not to Give

It is under these circumstances, it is better not to give feedbacks. Feedbacks are valuable and to give them to unappreciative recipients who will only turn and hurt you, is an act void of logic and benefits. It is better to stay away from trampling swine and biting dogs. Remember, give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine.