Proverbs 11.22
“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.”
The picture being painted here is vivid, memorable, and powerful. A ring is small, but it is attractive and expensive. The pig is ugly and dirty. The pig is also considered unclean according to OT law (see Lev. 11:7 and Deut. 14:8). This indicates to modern readers just how repulsive the pig was to the original Jewish audience.
The emphasis is on the pig as the epitome of indiscretion. This is, after all, an animal that rolls in mud and feces, eats swill, and is generally a mess. This proverb, though, is writing from the perspective of the man. When someone looks at a pig and sees only the gold ring, so is a man who is so enamored by a woman’s physical beauty that he does not recognize her lack of discretion.
Solomon is telling us that what really makes a person beautiful is not outward appearance, but rather inward character. Just like the valuable ring seems out of place on the snout of a pig, external beauty means little on a person who lacks integrity.
The focus is people, not women. If you exchange genders, the proverb remains just as true: “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a handsome man without discretion.” We must learn to be discerning so that we see people the way the Lord sees people. “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (I Samuel 16.7)
The meaning, however, is not just about how men view women (or vice versa). The message is a warning not to place value on external appearance with anything. The wisdom of this proverb found its way into modern times with the saying, “All that glitters is not gold.”
The principle can be applied to people, places, or things that appear to be more than they really are. Mankind has always been susceptible to the seduction of outward appearance. Beauty — not character — is what tends to get people’s attention. 1 John calls this “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” and describes it as the way the fallen world operates. He tells us to have nothing to do with this distorted approach to life.
There are many things in the world that are attractive, charming, and alluring. These things entice us and seek to seduce us. We must exercise discernment to see the reality beneath the appearance of beauty, and we must seek what is good, right, and true.
In what areas of your life are you attracted to something that only has the outward the appearance of beauty? Is there something you find attractive that, in fact, is not good for you?
Be discerning. Don’t get deceived by attractiveness. Remember: All that glitters is not gold.
