Matt Oldham

This is something I periodically tell my daughters, although they are not really old enough to fully appreciate the meaning.  The point I make is based on the following passage of scripture:

A woman who is beautiful but lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout. –Proverbs 11:22 (NLT)

And I make this point because as I read this passage growing up I for some reason always related the “beauty” to the “gold ring” instead of relating the “woman” to the “gold ring” and the “[in]discretion” to the “pig’s snout”.  Now, I could obviously be misinterpreting the scripture, but it seems to me the message is much more profound when you look at it this way.

Every person is beautiful in God’s eyes however a lack of discretion covers our image in the eyes of others with a devalued veneer.  This devaluation reflects the wearing away of our morals, and I believe the message applies to everyone, men included.

I want this to be something my daughters eventually have planted  deep inside them.  Likewise I want my son to grasp this just as well, because we all live in a world of increasingly compromised standards where both children and adults experience a continual beat down of of moral desensitization.  Whether it be movies, television, the Internet, or fashion ads, the message is relentless.  “Less is more” – the “less” being (in many cases) clothing and the “more” being popularity, attention, inclusion, etc.

We (I speak for both my wife and I) want our children to find the joy that comes through living a life pleasing to God first and foremost – not one that meets the expectations of their peers or the world around them.  I believe that such an understanding is a core pillar in their spiritual foundation.

Am I completely off base here?  Let me know what you think…