Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman without discretion.
-Proverbs 11:22
What does that even mean? I think sometimes when reading the Bible we’re tempted to gloss over the parts that don’t make sense when, in all actuality, those are the parts we need to dig into most. We need to wrestle with the verses that seem absurd so we can come to an understanding of why God put them in the Bible.
I had to do that with this verse. When that happens, I usually start by defining words.
Discretion = The quality of being discreet, especially with reference to one’s own actions or speech, prudence or decorum.
Because that didn’t really add much clarity to the above verse, I kept searching Webster’s.
Discreet = Judicious (wise, sensible or well-advised) in one’s conduct or speech, especially with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect; modestly unobtrusive (inconspicuous, unassertive); unostentatious (not given to pretentious or conspicuous show in attempt to impress others; lacking manners).
So a woman beautiful on the outside but lacking manners, lacking restraint in her lips, lacking modesty and respect, is compared to a pig with a gold nose ring.
Why?
Because something is clearly out of place. Something doesn’t add up. One thing is not like the other. A dirty pig that rolls in the dirt for kicks and giggles does not compute with a stunning piece of gold jewelry. Those two things just don’t go together.
And just like with the pig, when people see a pretty–beautiful–woman acting with a pretentious attitude or conspicuous show in attempt to impress others, they know what doesn’t belong and what’s out of place.
But really, in the end, if a lady has a beautiful face but not a beautiful heart, what does she really have?
A beautiful woman is not really beautiful if her character doesn’t exemplify her beauty. And a woman without discretion is clearly not beautiful if she’s compared to a filthy, smelly pig.
A beautiful woman is not really beautiful if her character doesn’t exemplify her beauty.
My prayer for us as women is that we live with grace, class, poise, propriety and a behavior that imitates and emulates Jesus’ stunning and love-filled traits. May our behavior radically display the gift of the new heart we have received from Jesus, which makes us completely different from the women of the world, so that now we hold our tongue when we want to lash out, love when we want to hold a grudge, forgive when we want to cling to an injustice, serve when we want to be served and point to Jesus when we want to point to ourself.
Here’s to being a woman of discretion and not a pig with a nose ring.
Sophie Miller 