Proverbs 11:22-27 — Pretty is as pretty does

READ THIS: Proverbs 11:22-27

22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath. 24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous person will prosper;     whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. 26 People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell. 27 Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

So, what's discretion? I think of that word and immediately think "swim at your own discretion." When signs say that, it means you have to use your own judgement if it's smart for you to swim. When we use our own discretion, we are making decisions about what do based on our own thoughts of what would be best. What's neat about each of these proverbs is that they kind of each have to do with using our own discretion. 

We have to use our discretion about:

    23- What we should desire

    24- What we should give away and what we should hold onto

    25- Who we should be generous with and how to go about being generous

    26- How we should use our resources

    27- What we should seek out each day and order our lives around attaining

And the thing is, what we learn from verse 22 is that someone can have a whole lot of other things that aren't discretion, including beauty, and those other things go to waste. A gold ring might be beautiful, but it doesn't make a pig beautiful. A person's face and body might be beautiful, but it doesn't make their character beautiful. 

In short, something my mom said to me a lot growing up helps sum up these verses. "Pretty is as pretty does." True prettiness/handsomeness comes from walking with God, which makes us shine from the inside out. But, we have to use our discretion...what next action would actually lead to us walking with God? With us actually being beautiful in His sight?

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Who is someone that you think is beautiful but they don't act so nice? 

2. Who is someone that you don't really think about what they look like but you see them as beautiful because of how they act?
 
TRY THIS:

Decide today if you want to look more like the person from question number 1 or from question number 2! Whoever you pick, write their initials on your arm and remind yourself throughout the day. 
If you can't think of anyone, you can always write down JC for Jesus!!

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 12, 2023 at 6:06 AM

    I have a friend who is beautiful in spite of the fact that most of her front teeth have been knocked out from multiple falls, but each day is always the best day of her life!!! She brings me joy, just being with her!

    ReplyDelete

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