Lipstick on a Pig: Why Faking Recovery Never Works | Proverbs 11

Gold Rings & Muddy Snouts – Stop Decorating the Mess 🐷💍

 Solomon didn't hold back in Proverbs 11. He gave us one of the wildest images in the Bible:

"Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion." (Prov 11:22)

Let’s translate that to recovery language: You cannot dress up dysfunction.

In active addiction, we were experts at this. We’d get the fresh haircut, put on the nice clothes, and flash a smile (the gold ring), but inside, we were still living in the mud. We thought if we looked good on the outside, nobody would notice the chaos on the inside.

But here’s the reality check for Day 11: Putting jewelry on a pig doesn’t change the pig.

If you want real recovery, you have to stop focusing on the accessories and start dealing with the character. You have to clean up the inside.

In this video, we’re talking about: ✅ Why we love to "fake it till we make it" (and why it fails). ✅ The danger of having a "public self" and a "private self." ✅ How to trade the gold ring for real, gritty integrity.

Stop trying to impress people with your "gold ring." Let’s get real about the mud.

📲 TAKE THE NEXT STEP:

• Download the App: Daily tools to help you stay out of the mud.

• Need Help? We are here 7 days a week at Outreach 419.

• Subscribe: Don't miss Day 12!

#SoberNotBoring #Outreach419 #Proverbs11 #LipstickOnAPig #Recovery #Integrity #NoFakingIt #MontcalmCounty

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We used to be expertsat cooking the books.
in active addiction, we wantedthe reward without the work,
the trust, without the truth.
And you know, the high without thehangover, we were constantly trying
to tip the scales in our favor.
Welcome to day 11 of a proverb A day.
Keeps the police away.
Today we hit chapter 11 andSolomon destroys the idea.

(00:20):
Of shortcuts.
He talks to us about cheating the systemand trying to dress up a messy life
and the weirdest math in the world.
How giving stuff away is theonly way to actually get rich.
So first, let's talk about integrity.
Solomon starts right out of the gatetalking about honest weights and measures.
He compares the person trying tocheat their way through life with the

(00:41):
person who just plays it straight.
God hates cheating in the marketplace.
He loves it.
When business is above board, thestuck up fall flat on their faces.
But down to earth, people stand firm.
The integrity of thehonest keeps them on track.
The deviousness of crooksbrings them to ruin.
A thick bankroll is no help whenlife falls apart, but a principled

(01:04):
life can stand up to the worst moralcharacter makes for smooth traveling.
An evil life is a hard life.
Good character is the best insurancecrooks get trapped in their
sinful lust when the wicked die.
That's it.
The story's over.
End of hope.
A good person is saved from much trouble.
A bad person runs straight into it.

(01:27):
The loose tongue of thegodless spreads destruction.
The common sense of theGodly preserves them
when it goes well for good people.
The whole town cheers whenit goes badly for bad people.
The town celebrates.
The text here says at the beginning,God hates cheating in the marketplace.
I know in our past life, wetreated everything like a
marketplace that we could cheat.

(01:48):
We manipulated our families, We cutcorners at work and we lied to our pos.
We were always trying to sell aversion of ourselves that wasn't real.
Solomon says that the integrityof the upright guides them.
Think of integrity as your GPS.
When you're honest.
You don't have to remember your lies.
You don't have to calculatethe odds of getting caught.

(02:09):
The path is just clear.
If you're exhausted from tryingto balance the scales and
manipulate the outcomes, just stop.
Put accurate weights on the scale.
Own your mess.
Own your truth.
You can't cheat your wayto a recovery that lasts.
Next.
Solomon gives us one of the funniest andmost savage images in the entire Bible.

(02:31):
He talks about what happens when youtry to make something look good on the
outside, when the inside is still a mess.
When right living peoplebless the city it flourishes.
Evil talk turns it into a ghost town in notime, mean-spirited, slander is heartless.
Quiet discretion accompanies Good sense.
A gad about gossip can't be trustedwith a secret, but someone of

(02:54):
integrity won't violate a confidence.
Without good directionpeople lose their way.
The more wise counsel youfollow, the better your chances.
Whoever makes deals withstrangers is sure to get burned.
If you keep a cool head,you'll avoid rash bargains.
A woman of gentle grace gets respect,but men of rough violence grab for loot.

(03:16):
When you're kind toothers, you help yourself.
When you're cruel toothers, you hurt yourself.
Bad work gets paid with a bad check.
Good work gets solid pay.
Take your stand with God'sloyal community and live.
Or Chase after phantoms of Evil and Die.
God can't stand deceivers, butoh, how he relishes integrity.

(03:39):
Count on this.
The wicked won't get off scot-freeand God's loyal people will triumph.
Like a gold ring in a pigs
snout is a beautifulface on an empty head.
Oh yes.
Here we go.
A gold ring in a pig's snout.
Picture that you can take a pig, you canwash it all up, spray it with perfume,

(03:59):
put a 24 karat gold ring in its nose.
But as soon as you let that thing go,it's going right back into the mud.
It why?
Because it's still a pig
in recovery.
We call this putting lipstick on a pig.
We get the job back, we get thecar, we get the gym membership,
and we look great on social media.
But if we haven't changed our character,if we lack discretion, you know,

(04:23):
we're just a mess with accessories.
Don't focus on the gold ring.
Don't focus on the external stuffthat makes you look successful.
Focus on the inside.
If you change the nature of thepig, you don't need the jewelry
to prove that you're doing well.
Finally, let's look at the mathof the kingdom, which is the exact
opposite of the math on the streetsin addiction we took to survive.

(04:46):
In recovery we give to thrive.
The desires of good people leadstraight to the best, but wicked
ambition ends in angry frustration.
The world of the generousgets larger and larger.
The world of the stingygets smaller and smaller.
The one who blesses othersis abundantly blessed.

(05:07):
Those who help others are helped curseson those who drive a hard bargain.
Blessings on all who play fair and square.
The one who seeks good finds delight.
The student of evil becomes evil.
A life devoted to things is a dead life.
A stump, a God shaped lifeis a flourishing tree.
exploit or abuse your family andend up with a fistful of air.

(05:30):
Common sense tells youit's a stupid way to live.
A good life is a fruit bearing tree.
A violent life destroys souls.
If good people barely make it,what's in store for the bad?
The message version says here, theworld of the generous gets larger
and larger, and the world of thestingy gets smaller and smaller.

(05:51):
Doesn't that sound exactly like addiction?
Your world got so small, it was justyou and the substance in a tiny room.
You held onto everything tight, buthere's the secret sauce of recovery.
The more you give, the more you have.
Verse 25 basically says, the one whowaters will also be watered If you
feel dry today or if you feel empty, gowater someone else, go help a newcomer.

(06:16):
Go volunteer somewhere.
Go be of service.
we don't keep this thingcalled recovery by hoarding it.
We keep it by giving it away.
If you want your world to getbig again, open up your hands.
So the takeaways in chapter 11 to keepthe police outta your life today are
this number one, stop cooking the books.
You can't cheat recovery.

(06:36):
Use accurate weights and behonest in all your affairs.
Number two, no pigs with gold rings.
Don't just dress up the outside,do the internal work so you
don't have to go back to the mud.
And number three.
Water to be watered.
If you wanna keep it,you have to give it away.
Generosity expands your world.

(06:57):
So I'll see you tomorrow for day 12.
We're gonna talk about the truth trap andwhy stupid people just refuse to learn.
Listen a free way to support thispodcast And show the platform that
this is good content is just hitthat subscribe button on the channel.
Comment your thoughts below and maybedrop a pig nose if you're taking the
jewelry out of that snout today, andshare this with a friend who may need

(07:18):
a little encouragement in their life.
I know we could all use someon a day-to-day basis here.
And friends, as always,stay sober, not boring.