Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
If godly women and excellent wives are to be valued far greater than the most precious jewel, it is extremely important that we understand the difference between a gem and a piece of broken glass.
When I was a kid my parents once took our family to an old fashion mining facility. It was a tourist attraction somewhere in the Smokey Mountains. The claim was that if we sifted for long enough we would be able to find rubies, sapphires and possibly even a diamond. I remember my first attempt at sifting through the dirt. I thought I had struck the jackpot when several colorful objects remained at the bottom of my sifter. You can imagine my disappointment when my parents explained that they were only broken pieces of glass. I took one home anyway; it looked like a jewel to me.
Chapter 31 of Proverbs is a description of what a godly woman should look like. After so eloquently defining her worth and character for 20 verses, the author warns us that, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” I am concerned that society as a whole, and especially the Christian community, has placed so much emphasis on the outward appearance of a woman that we are producing nothing more than broken pieces of glass. The difference between a ruby and an old broken bottle may not always be clear in its outward appearance but is more than obvious in the chemical makeup of its existence. In the same manner, it is important for both young men and young women to remember that a godly woman is not defined by her outward appearance but by her inward existence. She must be more concerned with fearing the Lord than with walking the walk or looking the look.
Are you a young man in search of true love? I caution you as the author of Proverbs does to look further than her outward appearance. I know it is extremely difficult for young men to see anything else once a beautiful face is in front of them but I can’t express enough the importance of taking the time to be sure she fears the Lord. If a girl has no place in her heart for the fear of the Lord, there should be no place in your heart for her love. Be careful that you don’t ever trade in your heart for an expensive piece of beautiful glass, continue to sift until you find your jewel.
If you are a young woman, I challenge you to grasp firmly the truth of this verse. It’s going to be hard to follow the Lord in this area of your life. Glass is created much easer and more quickly than a genuine jewel. There are broken pieces of glass walking down every hallway of every high school. Their sparkle and beauty catch the eye of every guy who passes them by. I encourage you to not sell out. Remember that broken pieces of glass are just that… broken. Allow yourself not to be broken, but beautifully cut by the perfect hand of our Lord. This process will take much more time and effort, but is worth it in the long run. There is no better quality than the fear of the Lord. Make this your utmost goal and allow God to do the rest.
An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels (Proverbs 31:10).