Description
In Proverbs 31:30, we see a better basis for admiring others.
Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
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Transcript
If we want to be liked, what attributes should a woman or a man most pursue? One of the answers is in Proverbs 31, verse 30. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
I want to be more charismatic because that helps me to engage with people and it overcomes my natural shyness. Nevertheless, is there a sense in which charisma and charm is fake? Well, yeah there is, if we are trying to project ourselves as someone we’re not.
Beauty similarly. Does the beauty of a person tell us what that person’s really like? Does it really tell us what their priorities are? Does it really tell us whether they’re motivated by good or evil thoughts?
No. Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the reason that we might praise a person. A woman, here it says, specifically in this verse, but equally it applies to a man.
Fear of the Lord is praised in many ways in the Bible. But then, the praise is for the person who does that. Fearing the Lord is a characteristic that we should admire in other people.
A God fearing man or woman is someone to be praised. And by praise we don’t mean worshipped, we mean looked up to, or used as a role model, as an example that we might follow.
Let’s not pursue charm for its own sake. Let’s not pursue beauty for its own sake. Instead, let’s pursue the fear of the Lord, and we can start that by spending time meditating on Him and on His Word, as we’re doing right now.
Lord, we know that You are a God who sees what’s inside our hearts, and You tell us that that’s what matters the most. Please incline our hearts towards You, Lord. You are our champion and our king, and we honour and serve you. Amen.
