Beauty by The Book

“Charm is deceptive,

and beauty does not last,

but a woman who fears the Lord

will be greatly praised.”

(Proverbs 31:30, NLT)

Words of LIFE Weekly Devotional

Beauty by The Book

by Laurie Cole
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Laurie Cole is the author of the study series Beauty by the Book.

What if I told you that you could become more beautiful every year of your life? And what if I also said that you wouldn’t have to lose a pound, spend a dime on plastic surgery or invest in Botox? Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not, because if you will make biblical beauty -- beauty by The Book -- your goal, you really can become more beautiful at every age and stage of your life.

So what is biblical beauty? What qualities and characteristics define it? To answer those questions, you are about to meet five females from Proverbs. But before you do, you need to know something: not all of these women qualify as true biblical beauties. Three are biblical beauty “don’ts” and two are biblical beauty “dos” (and you won’t have any trouble telling which ones are which). These five women can teach you the dos and don’ts of biblical beauty. Ready to meet them? Then allow me to introduce you to the five females from Proverbs:

1) The Immoral Woman Described in great detail as a deadly, dangerous seductress, she’s wildly popular in today’s sex-in-the-city world where immorality has become the new normality. But if biblical beauty is your goal, you can’t have anything in common with the Immoral Woman as described in Proverbs:

“Let (wisdom) hold you back from an affair with an immoral woman, from listening to the flattery of an adulterous woman. …Dressed seductively and sly of heart, she is the brash, rebellious type who never stays at home.” (Proverbs 7:5, 10-11)

2) The Indiscreet Woman The word “discretion” is defined as having “taste, judgment and discernment.” This means the Indiscreet Woman has poor taste, bad judgment and no discernment -- a recipe for a disastrous life. According to Proverbs, a biblically beautiful woman is discreet, and no amount of physical beauty can make up for a deficit of discretion:

“A woman who is beautiful but lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.”
(Proverbs 11:22)

3) The Irritating Woman This woman speaks 3C, a language marked by Contentiousness, Crabbiness and frequent bouts of Complaining. A biblically beautiful woman, however, speaks fluent 3B: words that Build, Bless and Benefit others (Eph. 4:29). Choose to speak 3C and this is how the people you love will feel about you:

“It is better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a contentious wife in a lovely home....It is better to live alone in the desert than with a crabby, complaining wife.” (Proverbs 21:9, 19)

4) The Captivating Woman Can a biblically beautiful woman be sensual, sexual and seductive? Yes! If you are married, Proverbs exhorts you to be a Captivating Woman -- a woman who intoxicates her husband with her love. And as you read this somewhat steamy passage about her, don’t forget that God is the One who wrote it:

“Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving doe, a graceful deer. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.” (Proverbs 5:18-19)

5) The Ideal Woman The most well-known woman in Proverbs, the Ideal Woman in Proverbs 31 is dazzling. But if you are dismayed or defeated instead of dazzled by her, take heart. The Ideal Woman didn’t arrive at ideal-ness in a day, month or even a year. She became an Ideal Woman. It was a process and you can become an Ideal Woman, too, by practicing her #1 beauty secret:

“A woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.” (Proverbs 31:31)

Like the constantly changing hemlines of today’s fashions, the world’s definition of beauty is continually evolving. But one thing never changes: God’s Word -- The Book. More relevant today than the latest issue of Vogue and more liberating than the most recent reinvention of feminism, God’s Word is timeless, transformational and true. Study its standards, practice its principles and you will become a biblically beautiful woman of God -- a woman who grows more beautiful every year of your life.

This Week
Every day you are bombarded by the world’s definition of beauty on magazine covers, commercials, billboards, etc. Ask the Lord to remind you of His definition of beauty each time you are faced with the world’s standards so that you won’t be conformed to the world, but transformed by truth. (Romans 12:2)

Pray
“Father, I want to become a biblically beautiful woman. Teach me how as I reverence, obey and give You and Your Word priority in my life.”


LIFE Today TV Show
Laurie Cole joins James and Betty on LIFE Today this Thursday Feb 5th, 2009.