Prov. 31:30

I know I'm kind of skipping around, but some things take longer to research and pray about. I'd like to start the virtuous woman chapter with Prov. 31:30. It says:

"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised."

"Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain"
   You've heard the phrase "Beauty is only skin deep," right? Well this is true when talking about outer beauty. "For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." This quote found in I Samuel 16:7 is from when Samuel was looking at Jesse's sons to see who would be the king. Looking at little David, noone expected him to be the one chosen of God, Jesse didn't even call him to be present while Samuel was looking. David, however, was the one God wanted. God saw the inner beauty that David had, and that inner beauty is FAR greater than the outward appearance. God made us who we are and He thinks we're all beautiful, as we are His creations and His children! How exciting is that? Now, if our Heavanly Father thinks we're beautiful, should it matter what ANYONE else thinks? ...I think not! Psalm 139:14 is the attitude we should have. It says, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." I Peter 3:3-4 says, "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." There's another well known saying that is true. "It's what's on the inside that counts." I'm not saying it's wrong to make yourself look presentable. I'm saying it's wrong to present your outward beauty more than you present your inward beauty. Are you more interested in making your face shine than your inner light? The outward beauty is on a downward spiral as we get older, get gray hairs, and the wrinkles start to show. We age outwardly day by day, and aging is generally not considered "beautiful." However, if we seek God, ask Him to guide us and grow in us wisdom, and live for Him, we become even more beautiful as we age. 2 Corinthians 4:16 says "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."

"A woman that feareth the LORD"
   The Scriptures say a lot about fearing the LORD. Psalm 112:1 says, "Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments." Psalm 128:1 promises, "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways." Proverbs 14:2 states, "He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him." These scriptures all describe that you are blessed (or happy) if you fear Him, and they all talk about obeying His commands. Okay, but what does fearing God mean? Let me give you a picture of what I believe it means to fear the LORD. First of all, I do not believe it means that we must be afraid to apporach our Father in heaven, or that we should run off and hide from Him because we're so scared of Him. I believe it means we should have such a GRAND respect for Him, that we should fear disappointing Him. We should not only fear because He chastenes those He loves, but we should fear because we love Him so incredibly much that we don't ever want to disappoint Him. How do we do this? In Matthew 22:36, a lawyer was questioning Jesus and asked him this question: "Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? " Jesus answered him in verse 37 and 38 by saying "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." How do we show our love for God? I John 5:3 says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." I think of it as a child who desperately love their parent, and acting on their parent's commands because: 1. they're fearful of the consequences of not doing what they're suppose to; 2. they don't want to see their parent be disappointed when they find out they didn't do as they were told. To me, number 2 was the worst feeling when I was growing up, and still when I dissapoint my parents, actually. But how much more should I fear disappointing my Heavenly Father?

"She shall be praised."
   Sure, being a godly woman may get some praise and recognition from other people, but hopefully the other people will praise God, and not me. My praise will hopefully come when I get to heaven. All I want to hear is "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." That's when I shall know I didn't disappoint my Father after all, and what a wonderful feeling that would be! I only pray that I can become a more dedicated and faithful servant!