During my recent trip to India, I saw many things that were a shock to my Western eyes. One visual that never ceased to capture my attention was the animals roaming through city streets. A cow standing next to shoppers buying food, monkeys perched on doorsteps, hogs foraging in a living room-each of these sights was an attack on my senses. Something about these sights seemed wrong, out of place. But I never saw what is described in this verse – a precious, beautiful, expensive jewel protruding from the snout of a stinking swine. In any culture, this would be considered wrong, almost criminal, certainly a colossal waste. So is a beautiful woman without discretion. The word discretion here means “taste.” Ladies expend great energy in determining the clothing, hairstyle, etc. that appears most appealing, most tasteful, most complimentary. This is a natural instinct. But what if all this effort were wasted due to a lack of spiritual taste? We don’t have to wonder, do we? We see it around us every day, as God-given beauty is marred and wasted by a confusion of whose definition of tastefulness matters. Ladies, today listen to God. You will find relief from the constant pressure of the world to conform to its ever-changing definition of tastefulness. A few helpful Scriptures to ponder are: Proverbs 31:30, Titus 2:3-5, I Peter 3:1-6, and Proverbs 7.