A beautiful woman who lacks discretion
is like a gold ring in a pig’s snoutProverbs 11:22
To read today’s portion of scripture, you can purchase The One Year Bible 
Numbers 32:1-33:39
Luke 4:31-5:11
Psalm 64:1-10
Proverbs 11:22
We’ve raised a few pigs in our day. They were always adorable as piglets, but my enduring memory of the 200-pounders was watching them happily standing in their own slop with snot dripping off their noses. I sure hope you’re not reading this over your breakfast.
The last thing I would have ever thought to do would be to purchase an expensive gold ring and attach it to a pig’s nose, and for two reasons: 1) it would be a waste of a good ring, and 2) it wouldn’t beautify the pig one bit.
How does this compare with a beautiful woman who lacks discretion? To understand what God is saying, we have to dive into the word “discretion.” At its most basic level, discretion is proved with wise choices and self-control. If you’re thoughtful about the options placed before you, and you choose based on what is good and right and not on what would be the easiest or the most pleasurable, you’ve shown discretion. If the right option is obvious, but you reject that choice in favor of one that is easy and/or more fun, you’ve shown a lack of discretion.
Our culture does nothing at all to help women maintain their discretion. In fact, the complete opposite is true. Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, you see women who have abandoned their discretion. Every year, at least one tantalizing article pops up in your newsfeed announcing, “This year’s most revealing outfit” at the Grammy’s, the Emmy’s, or one of Hollywood’s other self-congratulatory awards show. The cover shot for that article is usually so unfitting for the general public that they have to mask certain areas. And what does it tell young girls? That if you want to be beautiful, you’d better expose more flesh.
I’m always so sad when I see a really lovely girl who has bought into this lie. I want to take a her aside and say, “You’re giving the wrong impression,” or “You’re worth so much more than this,” or “Let’s get a few safety pins and cover up a bit.” With one glance, you know that this is a girl who wants to be accepted and/or noticed, and who believes immodest dress is the way to get there. It also suggests that she’s going to be an easy mark for a hormone-driven boy.
No matter how beautiful the ring, it doesn’t beautify a pig. And no matter how outwardly beautiful the girl, a lack of discretion diminishes her loveliness and devalues her character. But a woman with discretion? There’s a true beauty, inside and out.
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