“Do not Cast Your Pearls before Swine” (Matt 7:6)

I received a surprise email from a good friend asking whether I had published my book. When I first read his text, I thought to myself, "which book?" He meant my "Departure Points" which came out in December 2019. That shows I have somewhat lost contact with this friend from overseas with whom I had a conversation about publishing my book perhaps in Sept of 2019 and then we were separated by the pandemic and only now he could return to Sabah. But I also received advice (sometimes unsolicited but I take all advice as well-intentioned) as to how to promote my books and a friend in KL actually did the posters for me for the Malaysian and Singaporean "markets". If I had used a commercial term, it is meant to be parabolic and an irony since the last thing I have in mind is to make a profit. In fact, I might just give my friend a surprise and show him my three books, instead of the one in his mind which was not even published when we last spoke. I am reticent and reluctant except on my social media platforms to promote my books for the sole reason that the contents are precious - "John's Gospel (1-12)" and "a Woman in Love" are both commentaries on the Word of God, one in the NT and the other in the OT. Since these are precious things, it is not good to cast your pearls before swine and the preceding parallel clause in Matthew's Gospel has "do not give dogs what is holy".

All my three books are holy things - my "Departure Points" sat on my lap for a full 5 years from October 2014 when I completed my first 10 chapters until October 2019 when I finished my manuscript with 12 chapters incorporating my ministry in Ranau in the last two chapters (2015-2019). People who are just curious or carnal minded are not my target audience. In my recent Webinar, I told my audience that I won't be selling my Song of Solomon's commentary separately as they would need to purchase "Departure Points" as well. Why did I do that? As Song of Songs contains mature themes of love, romance, sexuality, desires and passions, any unscrupulous person could misinterpret my book just like the apostle Peter who commented on Paul's writings as being difficult to understand whereby many unprincipled men and women had twisted to their own destruction, being deceived themselves and deceiving others in the process. So I guard all my books like holy things and pearls before the Lord and only the mature in Christ will most likely benefit from them for my sole intention is to edify believers and help them understand God's Word in its fulness, and these books are not commercial items for trade and profit. "Freely you have been given, freely give"!