Proverbs 31

Beauty, beauty, beauty. We live in a culture obsessed with beauty, and it is getting more obsessed all the time. Author Regina Franklin wrote about that in her book Who Calls Me Beautiful? In 1951, Miss Sweden weighed 151 pounds and was 5′7″. By 1983, Miss Sweden measured in two inches taller at 5′9″, but 45 pounds lighter at 106. Clearly, the standards of “beauty” change from generation to generation!

Things have gotten worse with the advent of photo technologies that allows magazines and marketers to airbrush the smallest “flaw” from their models. Consequently, from a young age, girls (especially) are programmed to strive for a certain “image” if they want to be considered beautiful.

By contrast, the book of Proverbs ends with a stunning picture of the truly beautiful woman: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (vs 30) This is the conclusion of the matter, as the wise sage has just spent 20 verses outlining the virtuous characteristics of a woman whose “children arise and call her blessed.” (vs 28)

My favorite wise-cracking TV judge, Judy Sheindlin, frequently quips, “Beauty fades. Dumb is forever.” But what the author is saying in Proverbs 31 is that beauty doesn’t have to fade. If it is the kind of beauty that is rooted in God, it will never fade; in fact, it is the only kind of beauty that can last.

I had a personal experience with this phenomenon once. I knew a young man in college who was very physically attractive. I was always looking for opportunities to spend time with him. As chance would have it, we did spend some time together, and the more time I spent with him, the less attractive he became. The more I listened to the things he said and the more I saw how he treated people, the uglier he got.

I have no doubt it also works the other way around. People who would never be considered “beautiful” in a physical sense can become some of the most beautiful people you will ever meet because they “fear the Lord.” God is the true beauty-maker, and when we surrender our lives to Him, His everlasting beauty will grow and develop in us, spilling out and over to anyone we meet. This is the kind of beauty we should be obsessed with!