Skin Deep Christians

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.  Proverbs, Chapter 31, verses 10-12.

It goes on to say how she will help provide for her family, but I like verse 20: She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 
The next verses continue to list some of the qualities of the virtuous woman, but I, also like verse 26: She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.  There are more qualities listed, and then verse 30 says: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
I especially like the last verse that I mentioned.  God wasn’t saying, “Boy are you lucky to have a wife who is a CEO of a company.” Or, “Boy are you lucky to have a wife who is so gorgeous that she looks like a model.”  God says (paraphrased) that He values women who look after their families, provide for them and are kind and giving to others.  In fact, God reminds us that beauty is only skin deep.  What really matters is a person’s relationship with God and living as an example of that.

Now, as Skin Deep Christians, we’ve all met some attractive, shallow people but there are also beautiful women who have a great relationship with God.  There are homely, bedraggled women who are shallow and some who have a great relationship with God.  We really can’t make decisions about people based on their looks.  Fortunately, God doesn’t judge us by human standards.  He knows of our love for Jesus and sees how we lead our lives and what our priorities are.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.