"TRUE BEAUTY"

Good Evening to All!

Today's Seed: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)

Although this post is directed toward women, I think men might get something from it too. In other words, looks aren't everything and they are possibly deceiving. While there are lots of beautiful women who are beautiful inside and out, there are also those who are not. So men, although I know most of you who are "older" know better, I may have some "younger readers" as well, and I hope that you will not "judge a book by its cover". Don't just go by looks when getting interested in a young lady. Go by their hearts.

Many women struggle with a "baby belly" after the birth of a child. We glance at ourselves in the mirror (not me unfortunately) daily with determination to someday fit into our "real" jeans again. Our husbands can say we look beautiful. Friends can rave about our appearance; yet despite the compliments of others, we often view ourselves as overweight and unattractive.

Then there are those of us who don't have any excuse of why we gained weight other than hormones and age, lack of exercise and so on (those are my excuses).

In the search for beauty, we find many promises of hope--in the local gym, wild fat diets, expensive cosmetics, and hip fashions. We'll try them all. But each one leaves us feeling disillusioned and empty.

In Proverbs, God shows us the true beauty of a woman. It is not a size 8 waist and perfect hips. Beauty is found in our fear of the Lord. All our weight loss solutions do is keep us from the very scary prospect of inner evaluation. distracted by the pursuit of outward perfection, we miss our needs within.

Beauty comes from knowing that we are God's children, with a worth beyond measure. As we seek God, we will be transformed into His likeness, reflecting the character of God Almighty.

While there is nothing wrong with losing your baby weight, place your value on inner beauty, the beauty of the Magnificent One shining through a life connected to Him. Godly character is the true secret of beauty.

Dig Deeper: The Greek word for "praised" is halal, which means to cause to shine and glorify. A woman who fears the Lord will be praised in this way. Others will say things about her that cause her to shine.

Background Bulb: Godly fear is the virtue that begins, ends, and fills the Book of Proverbs. All the attributes Proverbs extols as meaningful are represented by the woman in Chapter 31. These qualities lead to praise, honor, worth, and enjoyment of life.

Weed & Water: Time spent with our Lord is the most important time spent all day. In order to keep the balance between striving for outward beauty and reflecting God's inward beauty, it's a good idea to spend at least as much time seeking God as you do putting on your makeup.


Think about it: What do you think you would gain by being more attractive physically? Spiritually?

How do you gauge your value? How should you?

Prayer Pot: Father, let your beauty shine through me today when I . . . (Insert your own thoughts)

Take-Away Idea: "If you are ugly at 16, it's not your fault. If you are ugly at 90, it is." Unknown

Reference: "Bible Seeds" A Simple Study-Devotional for Growing in God's Word by Patsy Clairmont and Florence Littauer, published by Starburst Publishing.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!