The Five B's : Beautiful

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The Five 'B's' of a Godly Woman: A Blogged Bible Study

Syllabus:
July 29 -- Intro
Aug. 5 -- B1: Brave
Aug. 12 -- B2: Beautiful
Aug. 19 -- B3: Bold
Aug. 26 -- B4: Bride
Sept. 2 -- B5: Becoming
Sept. 9 -- Conclusion

A Godly Woman is Beautiful

This subject has been preached/taught on for so long, in so many ways, it's really hard to come up with a fresh view of it. But we need to...because we forget that, as women who are pursuing the One who pursues us, we are beautiful. Really beautiful. Truly beautiful...

Oh, we all know 1 Peter 3:3-6 : Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

All kinds of indignities have been imposed on women down through the years based on those verses....and no, I'm not going to list them. You've seen it, you know. And you know that such things are not the Father's heart for His daughters.

So, what is beauty? The real thing, not the fake images foisted upon us by the entertainment and fashion industries? Or the other extreme...the precise and legalistic application of 1 Peter 3:3-6.

Now, don't get me wrong...I do believe Peter is describing a truly beautiful woman. But I don't believe he's talking about a woman who takes no care at all for her personal appearance. No, he's describing a woman who is excellent in all things, but her greatest priority is not her personal appearance...not her jewelry, not her shoes, not her hair style/color, it's her spirit that gets her greatest efforts. And don't neglect the last sentence: do what is right and do not give way to fear. There is a strength in beauty...true beauty does not give way to fear. This is not a drably attired, mousey, quiet, intimidated woman he's describing. It is a 'woman, fully grown' (anybody else watch the 'Tammy' movies years ago?); fully matured into a woman as God intended a woman to be. As I think about it, the false beauty being touted by various folks who make money from it has a lot of fear mixed into it...buy this dress, wear this look, correct this flaw, wear this size...or you won't be seen as successful, smart, and worthy of someone's time.

We had a weekly ladies Bible study at church a few years back which was taught by various women in leadership. They ranged in age from...30ish...to grandmothers. And at some point each week, listening to the speaker for that week, I would look at her and think, 'Wow, she's beautiful!'...and it was true of each and every one of them. God's spirit shone through them in such a way that ANY one looking at these ladies' faces would have to see their beauty.

We don't need to compare ourselves to any airbrushed image to figure out what beauty is; we don't need be afraid to express ourselves as women who like pretty things. We just need to hear what the King says about us:

The King is enthralled by your beauty - Ps. 45:11

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh,how beautiful!...Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. - Song of Songs 1:15, 2:10

Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her...'In that day, declares the LORD, 'You will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.' - Hosea 2:14,16

Friends: Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her lover? - Song of Songs 8:5


Closing thoughts: In what ways have I exchanged God's view of beauty, which does not give in to fear, for a false beauty that's based on fear? How would my day-to-day conversation change if I *really* believed that the King of the Universe is captivated by my beauty?