As a gold ring in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
Gold is always valuable, but not always desirable. The text equates feminine beauty with a gold ring; both are desirable, but not always.
Unwise financial management can make turn even the richest treasures unattractive. Consider the great storehouses of gold pillaged by Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein or by the Nazis in World War II.
Piggish stupidity or feminine arrogance can make the usefulness of gold questionable and its enjoyment brief.
Gold is Good But Mindless
This text deals more with the need for discretion than the worth of precious metals. Gold, like all money, has no mind of its own. This gold ring is moved around by its wearer—here, a pig. A beautiful, but mindless body is like an unguided rocket—Hollywood is full of examples. The pig wallows about in mud and slop.
Yet the text does equate a beautiful woman with a gold ring. Beauty and gold are both good. From the Bible’s second chapter (Genesis 2:12) to its second last chapter (Revelation 21:21), God’s word speaks of gold as valuable. Both gold and beauty—real beauty—remain a store of value here on earth.
Skill Required to Manage Gold
Study the answers to the following questions to become an excellent manager of gold. Discover gold’s limits. Learn what’s needed to handle gold wisely. Find out how to complement golden treasures.
1. What is more valuable than wealth?
2. What is more valuable than silver, gold, and diamonds?
3. When does money become bad?
4. What is worth more than gold and silver?
6. Where does the smart money go?
7. What is more desirable than great wealth?
8. Should gold be used to support a currency?
Include Gold in Your Investment Portfolio
For thousands of years, since the invention of money, gold has been the basic international currency. Until the latter half of the 20th century, it was the guarantee and reserve for the printed currencies of the great trading nations. However, in 1970, “the gold standard” (gold’s fixed price of $35USD/oz.) was abandoned, and within a decade, it soared as high as $875 US/oz. Gold’s value in 2003 was roughly $350 USD/oz. Today, we’re looking at $1,800 USD/oz.
In my opinion, gold, other precious metals, or mutual-fund equivalents should comprise at least eight percent of most people’s investment holdings. The value of gold on the global market place tends to vary inversely with the value of equity markets. Gold is seen by many as a safe haven in times of war or geopolitical uncertainty.
Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend
Jesus bought His church with something more precious than gold—His own blood (1 Peter 1:18-19).
A rich man will give up all his gold before he gives all his blood. Jesus, in giving His blood to the point of death, showed that we are of supreme value to Him. He gave up absolutely everything for our sake.
Jesus’ blood, unlike any other human blood, was unstained by sin—totally innocent. No other human ever had such blood. Does this mean it was genetically different from any other human blood? We cannot determine this, but we do know from scripture that Jesus was the only one born without a human father. He was spotless. He was the One who alone could satisfy the wrath of God toward rebellious people, yet redeemed by another’s death for our life (John 1:29, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
- Memorize the text in your favourite Bible translation and think about it often.
- Are you giving sufficient effort to the pursuit of wisdom, or do you think that the solution to your problems is just having more money?
- Are you putting more emphasis developing outward beauty or inward character?
- Train your children to dress tastefully, but also modestly.
- For more on this text go to this link.
Which of these steps, if any, does Jesus want you to take now? Ask Him.
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