"Wise as Serpents and Harmless as Doves"

This past weekend, I hiked Mt. Timpanogas with a bunch of my college friends. As we trudged up the trail, one of my friends and I started having a discussion about the history of rhetoric and how rhetoric is viewed today (yes, we are both English majors, and yes, we are both nerds about it). We thought it was interesting that the term "rhetoric" often comes attached with a negative stigma: if anyone is using rhetorical skills, it must be because they are trying to persuade you to do something wrong. We realized, however, that there are many situations when you can use skills of persuasion to help someone make right decisions. Nephi, a Book of Mormon prophet, uses the phrase, "and that I might more fully persuade" and Ammon, another prophet, uses strategem to direct his conversion conversation with King Lamoni.
I was thinking about the proper use of rhetoric in sharing the gospel when I read Matthew 10:16 where Jesus commands his disciples to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." I thought it correlated really well with what my friend and I had been discussing on our hike. We can purposely tailor our gospel sharing for specific people and ponder on what methods of sharing might be the most effective for them- this would be where we are "wise as serpents." But even as we formulate plans, we remember that we are doing so out of love and that we are only persuading because we believe that what we are sharing is the truth and can help our friends- this is how we are "harmless as doves."
I was feeling pretty smug as I thought about this connection- then I read verse 19 where Christ says, "take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak." So much for planning ahead, right? But then I looked at the context more carefully. Christ was speaking specifically of moments when his disciples would be brought before governors and kings, "for a testimony against them" (vs. 18). I realized that there is a difference between gently persuading people who are genuinely seeking for the truth and boldly testifying against those who are challenging the truth. On my mission, when I encounter people who are are simply looking for a chance to argue, rather than trying to fruitlessly persuade them, it is better for me to simply bear my testimony as directed by the Spirit. No one can legitimately challenge my words of "I know this is true." On the other hand, when I am working with investigators who are earnestly searching, the Spirit can direct me in my preparation before I teach them, as well as during the actual teaching, and I can pick methods of teaching specific to my investigators. Knowing the difference between the two situations will be something where, again, the Holy Spirit will direct me.