pearls before swine

i'm increasingly learning the wisdom of 'not casting my pearls before swine'!
you have to trust your 'gut' or intuition. Live and learn as they say. Related to this is Jesus' admonition to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
Matthew 7:6 is the reference where Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."

The ESV study bible has this to say about 'pearls' in this verse:
Pearls symbolize the great value of the message of the kingdom of heaven (cf. Matt. 13:45–46). Believers are to be merciful, forgiving, and slow to judge (7:1–5), yet they should wisely discern the true character of people and not indefinitely continue proclaiming the gospel to those who adamantly reject it, so that they can move on and proclaim the gospel to others (cf. 10:14; also Acts 13:46; 18:6; Titus 3:10–11).

I think the commentator is right on but I also believe that 'pearls' can refer analogously to important values we hold dear which are kingdom related---our sense of calling, family, etc.