Devotion for August 3, 2008

Don’t Be A Pig!

“[As] a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, [So is] a lovely woman who lacks discretion.” (Proverbs 11:22 NKJV)

Matthew Henry Commentary
By discretion here we must understand religion and grace,  a true taste and relish (so the word signifies) of the honours and pleasures that attend an unspotted virtue; so that a woman without discretion is a woman of a loose and dissolute conversation; and then observe,

1. It is taken for granted here that beauty or comeliness of body is as a jewel of gold,  a thing very valuable, and, where there is wisdom and grace to guard against the temptations of it, it is a great ornament, (Gratior est pulchro veniens de corpore virtus—Virtue appears peculiarly graceful when associated with beauty); but a foolish wanton woman, of a light carriage, is fitly compared to a swine, though she be ever so handsome, wallowing in the mire of filthy lusts, with which the mind and conscience are defiled, and, though washed, returning to them.

2. It is lamented that beauty should be so abused as it is by those that have not modesty with it.  It seems ill-bestowed upon them; it is quite misplaced, as a jewel in a swine’s snout, with which he roots in the dunghill. If beauty be not guarded by virtue, the virtue is exposed by the beauty. It may be applied to all other bodily endowments and accomplishments; it is a pity that those should have them who have not discretion to use them well.

Matthew Henry has provided an excellent commentary on the meaning of this passage—it is all about the inappropriateness or misuse of God’s gifts. Specifically it speaks to the beauty of a women used for immoral indiscretions.

By way of application one may relate this to any valued gift God has given him. If one is a preacher and fails to preach truth, then he too drags the blessings of God through the mud. A congregation that fails to exalt Christ, and lives for itself does not honor the Savior. If one buries his talents in the ground and refuses to honor the Lord, he has misused and abused the good graces of God.

Please be careful my friend how you use the talents and gifts of God. If you are His child, He has bestowed gifts on you to edify the Body of Christ. Do not use those gifts for personal gain. Do not neglect those gifts because of worldly pursuits. You must honor the Lord!

Look at how precious one’s redemption is. It is a pearl of great value. It is a vast treasure. Will you cast it aside like garbage for the dump? My friend if you are willing to treat your salvation with such contempt, then you had better examine if you are truly in the faith.

Come now, surely the child of God will heed such warnings. Cast off all indiscretions and serve the Lord with gladness. Repent of those worldly entrapments you have been entertaining and return to the Lord. See if He will not forgive and return to you the joy of your salvation. By all means, please do not act like a pig!