Charm
is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be
praised.
Most women desire to be winners in life. They go about it in different ways – education, beauty, politics, social status, or so-called liberation (ERA) to name a few. God’s method of producing a winning woman is different as we see in today’s passage. However, many Christian women look at Proverbs 31 and immediately get on a guilt trip or throw up their hands in utter hopelessness lamenting, “I could in no way be like this!”
Would you like to be this kind of woman? (Men, your turn comes later!) You can be but you can’t just jump into Proverbs 31 and expect an overnight transformation. This kind of woman is made – not born. The starting place is found in verse 30, “a woman who fears the Lord.” This little but powerful phrase outlines the difference between winning and losing and anyone can win whether young, middle aged, ancient, married or single!
A
winning character is not found on the surface (charm is deceitful and beauty is
vain). Webster defines deceitful as
“that which lacks reality.” Being
lovely on the outside, if not accompanied by a corresponding inner beauty, is
deceiving and can give a false impression to others (I Samuel 16:7, Matthew
23:27-28).
Nor
does outer beauty alone fulfill – it is vain.
Again we go to Webster and see vain as fleeting, transitory, that which
fades (James 1:11, I Peter 1:24).
Physically attractive people sometimes live lives of fear and anxiety,
trying to hold on to their looks.
Physical attraction cannot produce inner attraction.
So
if outer beauty is not the badge of the wining woman, what is? And the answer – real winning qualities in
woman, or anyone for that matter, are found in her devotion to the Lord. I Peter 3:1-4 describes this inner beauty we
have been talking about.
In the same way, you wives, be
submissive to your own husbands so that even is any of them are disobedient to
the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as
they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. And let not your adornment be merely external – braiding of the
hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden
person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
“The woman who fears the Lord shall be praised.” She shines forth with a beauty that comes from a true, clear reverence for the Lord. This is the starting place for a life of fruitful service – in the home, the family, the church. It can be worn by anyone - young, middle aged, ancient, married or single! God did not change your personality when He saved you. He liberated it from the control of sin. Ladies (and gents), I challenge you to work toward becoming a winner in the year ahead. God bless and have a happy Mother’s Day!
In Christian love,