Last time, last week, we talked about women in ministry, silent women versus speaking women in

First Timothy 212. That was ABGA 2174. Today we look at women and beauty in a selfie

culture, particularly how feminine beauty gets abused in such a culture.

And we get there from a question from Lisa asking about the verse in our Bible reading this week,

one until now has never appeared on the podcast.

Proverbs 1122.

Pastor John, hello, and thank you for taking my question, Lisa writes.

As a woman living in a culture that heavily emphasizes physical beauty, I find

Proverbs 1122 striking and convicting.

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

Could you explain the meaning behind this metaphor?

Why does scripture compare a beautiful woman without discretion to a pig with a gold ring?

What exactly does it mean to lack discretion in this context?

And more personally, how can I discern whether I am prioritizing external beauty

over a godly character? What practical steps can I take to guard my heart against the temptation

to focus on appearance at the expense of wisdom and discretion?

Well, this is a striking verse. Like a gold ring in a pig snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

Proverbs 1122.

It's not only striking, it's disgusting.

Yeah.

And I think it's intended to be.

Pigs were not only ritually unclean in Israel. For example, Israel was not allowed to eat

...