Honouring women of God on International Women’s Day
According to our society’s standards, a woman’s worth is often tied to what can be seen on the outside—her physical beauty, her possessions and her personal accomplishments. We are told that today’s ideal woman is beautiful, confident, independent, accomplished and proudly embraces her femininity. While feminism has certainly come a long way, if we are to truly live a life of purpose, we must turn to the One who created us in His image and designed women for a special purpose. How does God view women and who does He call us to be? While our world places emphasis on the external, God is more concerned about the internal, the posture of our heart.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
The honest truth is that charm can be misleading and outer beauty will eventually fade away but it’s what’s on the inside that is most important to God. Chasing after beauty, possessions and accomplishments in order to be seen and accepted by others will always leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled because they are temporary. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with self-care and dressing nicely, we must be careful not to place our value in our looks, lest we idolize our own beauty and love ourselves more than we love God. Doing so can easily cause us to fall into pride and even harbour jealousy over others.
The Proverbs 31 woman is one who places her true worth where it rightfully belongs—on honouring God and who He created her to be. She is a wise, virtuous woman of God who fears the Lord. She recognizes that her life is given from God to serve God. What makes her beautiful in the sight of the Lord is not her beautiful hair, trendy clothes or expensive jewelry, but her inner beauty—a gentle and quiet heart set on honouring, trusting and following God above everything else in her life. This is the unfading beauty that is of great worth to God. When we humbly submit ourselves to God’s intended purpose for women, we become pleasing in His sight and worthy of honour and praise in the sight of others. In turn, God sees the God-fearing women and blesses her home, her family and her business.
Today, on International Women’s Day, let’s realign our tendency to see ourselves and other women the way the world sees them and instead choose to see them the way God does—for their inner beauty. Let us give honour and due praise to the God-fearing women in our lives who exemplify what it means to walk in reverence of the Lord. May we endeavor to follow their example of Biblical womanhood while seeking to honour the Lord in our own lives by following His standard for His beloved daughters. May we raise up and cherish godly women who fear the Lord.