Our society emphasize so much of unrealistic physical attractiveness.  Think of what the media projects to us with ads, TV shows, celebrities, etc.

Sadly this affect the church as well.

It affects our sisters in Christ. It affects brothers in Christ too.  Often the world tells us that the world’s latest fad of what is beautiful is more important than other things.  Things such as character, virtue and a genuine spiritual life with God.

The impact of the world’s idea of beauty affects how believers view themselves; it can rob some Christians of their joy that is rooted in their identity in Christ when they no longer focus on Christ but instead focus on how they measure up to the world’s standard of beauty for their self-worth and dignity.  While beauty does have its place in life yet to value it in such a way as to rob one’s joy in Christ ought not be for the Christian.

Of course the world’s emphasis of the priority of beauty affect how single Christians search for a spouse as well.

But hear what Scripture has to say:

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)

Note the verse mentioned that “beauty is vain.”  In the Hebrew “vain” has the idea of breath; you blow out air on a cold day and its gone.  Beauty is contrasted with the virtue of “a woman who fears the Lord”

If you read this blog for anytime now you would know I prize literal Bible translation and interpreting any passage according to the author’s intent.  But if you may permit me to quote from my very own NLT (Non-Literal Translation) I would phrase Proverbs 31:30 like this:

Physical Beauty without Good Works is Dead

Yes its true.  That’s the principle taught in Proverbs 31:30.  Face without works is dead, or any other part of the body of a person that one cherish as physically attractive.  We all have heard the idiomatic saying “all dressed up and nowhere to go” but physical beauty without the fruits of godly virtue is like a gift box that’s all wrapped up but with nothing inside; its all about the packaging with nothing else beyond that.  But without any content the packaging becomes meaningless; likewise beauty without the accompaniment of the fear of the Lord and the fruit of the Spirit is meaningless.

No wonder Proverbs 31:30 say beauty is vain.  Actually it is worst than that: the absence of godly virtues means sin will take its place and sin if we understand the sinfulness of sin, is ugly.  Moral ugliness is the worst kind of ugliness.  Think of the person who superficially is attractive according to the world’s standard but who later turn out was a terrible person in how they treat others.  Suddenly that person becomes repugnant with their sins.

The rest of the Bible tells us that sin separate us from God which is a spiritual death that will one day culminate in the second great death, the judgement of God.  Yet what will profit someone who gain the whole world’s attention by their physical beauty if they lose their very soul?  It is true: Physical Beauty without Good Works is Dead.

In contrast a godly woman is described as such: “But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”

Do not forget all of us are fading away physically: “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16).  We learn from this verse that what doesn’t last: “our outer man is decaying.”  Yet we also learn what does last: “our inner man is being renewed day by day.”

For the Christian the ugliest we will ever be both morally and physically, will be on this side of eternity.  After we die we will be without sin and reside in a glorified body and will become beautiful beyond anything anyone can possibly imagine.  Yet when we understand the doctrine of sanctification that God is working in the lives of those He saved to make us holy we also know that God has already begun beautifying us in a moral and spiritual sense on this side of eternity.  And that changes everything for the believers and courtship.  Perhaps in the beginning a brother in the Lord originally saw a sister as wall flower.  But through bits and pieces of information at the church he gets to know her a little more and also discovers her godliness.

If he’s a Christian that loves God that would be an encouraging thing for him to discover simply as a brother in Christ.  So every time he sees her physically he’s reminded of what he knows of her spiritually.  Whatever her unique physical appearance is, when he sees her it signals to him of who she is morally and spiritually.  He’s genuinely happy to see her.  Sometimes God uses that to lead someone to consider the possibility of a relationship heading towards marriage.  Her features become important to him.  And when that person does take an interests in that sister in the Lord he should realize that he’s begun catching just a small glimpse of her beauty (moral and spiritual) that’s going to be fully manifested in eternity.