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Beauty Wisdom

Written By: Pastor Dan Hickling

“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.”—Proverbs 11:22 NKJV

Some things just don’t go together. Oil and water, toothpaste and orange juice, toddlers and air travel, cats and baths, texting and dentistry, etc... The Book of Proverbs has its own colorful way of adding to these entries by describing a lovely woman lacking discretion being like a golden ring in a swine’s snout!

This sounds a bit like a “biblical burn,” but what does it actually mean?

We all agree that a pig’s nose isn’t a preferred place to be, and something as precious as gold doesn’t belong in there—they’re totally incompatible. In the same way, a woman who is truly beautiful is incompatible with someone who doesn’t have any discretion (or sense of wisdom). To put it another way, wisdom is a necessary component of the kind of beauty the Bible esteems.

It’s been said that wisdom is “the intuitive ability to do the right thing at the right time in the right way.” Another working definition is “the proper application of information and intelligence.” Whichever definition you may prefer, it’s clear that wisdom is something that only enhances and improves.

Whether we realize it or not, whether we admit to it or not, we all want to be close to wisdom. Because where there’s wisdom there’s also the benefit of its expression; a more balanced budget, a wider margin for failure, a healthier household, a better plan for the future. Who doesn’t want those things?

With that in mind, we begin to see the beauty of wisdom. It may not be as obvious as a perfect set of teeth. But long after the teeth have fallen out, wisdom’s beauty will continue to shine on. In fact, wisdom tends to get better with age and experience as one walks with God (Proverbs 16:31)!

If we’re wise, we’ll see wisdom’s presence as a very beautiful thing. So much so that we won’t be attracted to anything where wisdom is absent. That’s the kind of importance wisdom should have for us. It should hold so much weight that it defines our entire value system.

When that’s the case, we won’t be drawn towards relationships founded on foolishness which fall outside of God’s will for our lives. When wisdom is our standard, we’ll be drawn towards relationships that are stable, sustainable, and spiritually-centered.

DIG: Why is wisdom beautiful?

DISCOVER: How has wisdom, or the lack thereof, impacted your life?

DISPLAY: How are you demonstrating how much or little you value wisdom?