As a ring of gold in a swine's snout,
so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
Message: Inner Value
Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God.
What the Lord is Saying: Interesting verse comparing something that is beautiful with something that is bad and then something that is not beautiful with something that is elegant. The basic idea is these two items combined are two characteristics that don't belong together. Gold in a pig. Beauty lacking discretion. And the two comparisons are two things people all enjoy - riches and beauty. Yet it seems wasteful to add riches to a pig and it should seem wasteful to have beauty added to someone that lacks discretion.
A pig is an unclean animal. It is an animal by Jewish dietary laws that is not eaten. Gold as a precious metal metaphor represents wealth or something of value or something that is desirable. Thus, that which we desire is placed in something we don't. I Corinthians 15:33 says, "Bad company corrupts good character." Also 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be unequally yoked." Both of these have similar ideas of not mixing value or what we want with what is not valuable. But also here is adding value to something that won't be appreciated. On the flip side we like taking things that appear to be worthless and converting them to value, such as repairing something used rather than replacing it, such as a car or anything. It is great to take something that is used up and giving it more life, but the problem here is being corrupted.
To lack discretion is to not think before one speaks. This is a person that needs to be careful with their speech. It is a person that needs to be cautious about what they say, especially as it relates to others. We are to value inner beauty. In Proverbs, "Charm is deceitful." Words are more important than looks. What we hear, more important than what we see as far as looks. As I have been reading through the books of Joshua and the Judges, people like Saul and Adonijah were described first about their looks. Their character was not of the importance that stood out but rather their looks and those individuals did not end up leading well.
Prayer: O God, you are rich in mercy. Your ways are the best ways and here is the reminder that there is more than meets the eye and we should be more focused on inner beauty and inner value and how we speak and conduct ourselves instead of focusing on what simply is pleasing to our eye or even our pocketbook. Redefine this in our lives. Thank you for helping me see the importance of this in my life. Keep showing me. I thank you for the beauty of my wife but it only means something because of how wonderful she is as a person. This is when the beauty really stands out in her because of how caring and loving she is to me and others. Her playful ways. Her discretion to be careful about what she wears and how she presents herself. I am so thankful for her and how you have trained her to be Godly. Help me always to value this and not get so caught up in looks and beauty.
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