“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30 NIV
http://bible.com/111/pro.31.30.niv
Proverbs 31 is a beautiful illustration of a super wife/mom. It describes a woman who works hard and is very wise. It describes a woman who takes good care of her husband, children, and household. Proverbs 31 is often the scripture passage used for Mother’s Day sermons.
Men, stay with me here, this isn’t just for the ladies. This verse speaks to you. We live in a world where beauty is praised. Sexuality is used to sell everything from burgers to beer. There is nothing wrong with beauty, but know that it doesn’t always last. So my challenge to you today is to look beyond physical attributes. The problem with beauty is that if you go for someone just because they are beautiful on the outside, someone more beautiful will eventually come along and then what? The other thing that I’m sure many of you have figured out is that beauty on the outside doesn’t necessarily mean beauty on the inside.
Ladies the same goes for you. Abusive men draw women in with their charm. I’ve spoken to several women who were victims of domestic violence. They all said that what attracted them to their abusive husband was his good looks and what kept them interested was his charm.
We all know that physical attributes are what usually attracts us to someone initially and charm draws us in even more. But we need to be careful to trust in God in all things and that includes choosing our spouse. After all God made us and knows us better than anyone here on earth.
The Bible tells us that we should not be unequally yoked. This means if you are a Christian, you should look for someone who fears the Lord. I’ve seen many Christians marry non Christians, and let me tell you it was a struggle to watch. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live that life. Now eventually the non Christian may accept Christ, it could happen. Also, the non Christian may draw the Christian away from God. That is also a possibility. The Bible tells us that a god fearing wife could eventually lead her husband to Christ simply by him observing her Christ like behavior.
We would all like to say that we are not shallow and that we look for more in a mate than a beautiful smile or quick witted charm, but let’s be realistic. Physical attributes are usually what causes us to take notice of someone in the first place.
There is a song that says if you want a happy life, marry an ugly wife. That’s not what I’m saying here. I am just saying that in any relationship we should seek God’s will in our life. I would hope that you would take this approach to any type of relationship whether it is a business partner or a friendship. But when you consider spending the rest of your life with someone it is of utmost importance to be sure that this is God’s will for the both of you.
If you find yourself in a situation where you have already married someone who is a non-believer, don’t lose hope. Pray for that person. Don’t nag them. Let them see in you what living a christian life is like.
If you are looking for that special someone to spend the rest of your life with, pray about it. Ask God to lead you to them and be patient. Anything good is worth waiting for.
So as you go through this day, let God lead the way in all decisions, but especially those decisions that will have a great impact on the rest of your life.
Have a great day!