July 11

Jul 11 - Today from Proverbs 11 we look at verse 22
"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion."

There was a farmer who really loved pigs. He loved them so much in fact, that he married one. His closest friend could not believe what the farmer had done. "How could you possibly marry a pig?" asked his friend.
"Did you ever kiss a nice pig?" asked the farmer.
"Heavens no!" said his friend.
"Try it, and you will quickly discover why I married little Porkchop here," he said.
Because he was such a good friend, and he wanted to understand this bizarre situation, the friend went out to the barn and into the pig pen. The farmer quietly followed. The friend screwed up his courage, got on his hands and knees before one of the sows, closed his eyes and kissed the pig full on the lips. He stood up, wiping his mouth when the farmer asked, "Well, what did you think?"
"Actually, it was kind of disgusting," his friend replied.
"Well, little wonder," said the farmer. "You picked the ugliest one of the whole bunch."

I'm in the same camp as the friend. A pig is a pig, and there is little one can do to make it attractive. That's the point Solomon is making here to his children. But, it is obvious that the analogy is not a lesson on physical beauty. It is on true beauty, beauty of the soul. In the case of the proverb, the gold ring represents physical beauty, while the attribute of showing no discretion is represented by the pig. This analogy contains even more impact upon the Jewish culture, where the pig is a detestable unclean animal. A good Jew wouldn't be caught dead with a pig.
God is telling His children the same thing Solomon was telling his: Don't become so focused on physical beauty that you become blind to reality. A well designed ring made of pure gold is a wonderful thing to admire, but be very aware of the reality of what the ring is attached to. It's a packaged deal. That goes for both sexes, by the way. Trying to build a relationship on physical attraction is a very foolish effort. When a person uses their physical attraction to cover weak character issues, sooner or later the smallness of their beauty will become evident, and the largeness of their character faults will begin to do its damage. Usually, it's too late to avoid the pain of the damage.
The principle goes beyond just physical beauty. We all have our weaknesses, and we are all liable to focus on the smallness of something attractive to us rather than the character of what that something might be attached to. Perhaps it's wealth - we are willing to cement a relationship because a person has lots of money. Perhaps it's influence - we are willing to develop a relationship with someone who can get us what we want. Maybe it's popularity - we want to be able to say that we are friends with some popular public figure. I'm not saying that all the people who have these 'gold rings' are 'pigs'. What I am saying, and what I believe God is telling us here, is to look at the character of the person first. Be objective in choosing the people who you are willing to enter into personal relationships with. Make sure that what they have to offer in the relationship will add value to your character instead of demeaning your character.
How foolish to think that you have developed a relationship with a gold ring when in fact you are really dealing with a pig. Do you see the point? I am afraid that not many do in today's culture. Ad campaigns and clever marketing have us chasing and hooking up with gold rings all over the place, and without us even knowing it our character is being eroded by the pigs attached to them.
Wisdom is very careful in evaluating the character of those with whom they develop relationships, and makes good character the first qualification of personal relationships.