Articles
Beautiful Rings & Pigs Noses
Outward beauty is prized above many other qualities in our cultural mind-set. We are deeply concerned, and often obsessed, with how people see us. Am I attractive? Am I masculine? Am I feminine? Do I make others envious? There seems to be a constant fixation on what celebrities are wearing, what makeup they are using, and if their children will be pretty, just like them. But we must realize an important lesson, which is that this condition is not new!
What Can Spoil Beauty?
“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion” (Proverbs 11:22). This woman is far more than just disappointing, she is a monstrosity! Though she has skin-deep beauty, those fortunate features are wasted because she rejects God’s standard of morality. And what a shame, too! Is it not the case that some of the most “beautiful” people have the most lackluster character? Truly, a person’s physical beauty cannot make up for or hide his or her lack of good judgment. “Outward female beauty with indiscreet conduct is valueless and morally ugly” (Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 931). This is why so much emphasis is placed on the value of Wisdom (portrayed as a woman, it should be noted) by Solomon in the book of Proverbs. He warns the reader about the boisterous, but highly attractive, woman in several prominent passages (Proverbs 5:20-23, 6:24-35 [“To keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart…”], 7:6-23, 9:13-18, 23:26-28). It may be very easy to satisfy yourself with a beautiful, indiscreet person for a while, but these relationships do not last because everybody gets tired of foolishness eventually (or burned by it, as was the case with the naive guy from Proverbs 7).
Lest we think this is a problem only for women, remember that there are plenty of very handsome men in the Bible who failed miserably when it came to their morals (King Saul, Absalom, Adonijah, to name a few).
We see, therefore, that a person becomes quite ugly and unattractive when his or her physical qualities are not matched by a set of spiritual ones. Just as food spoils and wounds fester, there are a number of moral failures that make on ugly:
Dishonesty
Anger issues
Selfishness
Sexual unfaithfulness
Lack of self control of one’s tongue
Financial irresponsibility
Dishonor toward parents or loved ones
Vindictiveness
Arrogance
Rebelliousness
