"As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion."

I suppose it would take a man like Solomon to come up with a statement like the one in our text.

There are several things in this scripture which I wish to look into. First of all, who is this "fair woman"? I do not believe that Solomon was speaking of just someone who happened to be female, and it is for sure that I am not using this text to describe a female.

We find many place is in the Bible where the Church of the Living God if referred to as a woman, so, in this sense, "a fair woman" is any one who professes to be a child of God. And this is the sense in which we are using our text.

Solomon is speaking of a "fair" woman, so, let's see what a "fair" one would be:

Webster's Dictionary: "Fair"= beautiful (woman) handsome (man) pleasing to the eye or mind: free from any dark hue; spotless; not cloudy; fine; favorable; prosperous; just; equitable; civil; legible; above mediocrity; of good reputation; reasonable; honest; impartial. So, a "fair woman" would be some lady. I would dare call her a "virtuous" lady. OK?

Proverbs 31:10; "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."

I dare say that there is no greater woman or person than one who is "fair".

Solomon is speaking of a "fair" (I will say, "Christian") which has all the above qualities and virtues, whoms price is "far above rubies", yet, if this same person does not have "discretion", they lose their high place of honor and place themselves in a "hog's snout".

What is this "discretion" with out which brings us into such a low state? Again we turn to Webster's Dictionary; Discretion: 1. Prudence; 2. Judgment; 3. Sagacity; 4. Skill. We will look at these one at a time.

1: Prudence; A quality of being prudent: B: Wisdom applied to practice. The meaning of "Prudent" is; 1. Practically wise; 2. Careful of consequences of measures of actions.

From this word Prudence, we see that we must use wisdom in our dealings with others.

While there are many things which may not be wrong in themselves, could it be something that would mar our testimony for those we deal with.

Let me share something which happened on my job. One night, those I was working with were telling jokes, some dirty, some not. After a time, someone asked me to tell some jokes. I told them that I try to stay away from those things. They said, "Oh, you can tell 'clean' (so-called) jokes." I said, "Yes, but they COULD be stepping stones to "dirty" jokes, so I just try to stay off those steps."

I ask this question: "If you had a serious problem, would you want someone who was always "cutting up" with you, or would you want someone who was always "about the Father's business"? The answer, of course, is "one who is always about the Father's business."

Our second would is "Judgment". "Mental faculty of deciding correctly by the comparison of facts and ideas."

I believe the "judgment" here refers to our actions. What I am doing will it tend to promoting the "Kingdom of God" or will it mar my testimony? How many has had their testimony marred by their actions? God help us!!!

Our third word is "sagacity". This word means "A readiness of apprehension;" and also "practical judgment."

Once again, it is the ability to judge our actions. Will the things I am doing be helpful to the Kingdom of God, or will it be helpful to the Kingdom of Darkness? It must be helpful to one or the other.

Now for our fourth word. "Skill": One of the meanings of this word is "power to discern and execute". I believe this also has to do with our actions. Do we have the ability to discern what will be helpful to the Kingdom of our God and then DO IT?!!

Remember, Solomon said that if we are without these things, then we lower ourselves from "A price which is far above rubies to a HOG'S SNOUT!!!

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