MESSAGE TEXT
Proverbs 31:10-31
*
INTRODUCTION
The Proverb writer is always seeking to woo us away from the misdirected values of culture toward a truer way of seeing the world – in this case true beauty. America spends more money on beauty products and services than any other country in the world. 90 billion and a lot of that on skincare. We long to be beautiful or handsome. But who gets to decide what that is? The world bombards us with messages about what is beautiful and handsome. It sets standards for our physical appearance and our material success that influence our minds and shape our worldview—often without us even realizing it. It’s difficult to ignore these loud and ever-present voices as they speak to us from magazines, television, movies, the internet, and social media.
*
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Solomon (nickname King Lemuel) took all he learned from his mom (Bathsheba) (Proverbs 31:1-9), and created a mosaic, an ideal, a picture of beauty from all the seasons of a woman’s life – and Solomon put it together in one proverb. A literary mosaic is when we take different scenes from life and place them together in a unified narrative. This P31 portrait looks at various scenes throughout her life and puts it altogether in a finished product. So today, no one has to go to the bathroom and cry on the floor while your children watch Youtube videos because you don’t measure up to Proverbs 31! This wasn’t a day in her life; it was the activities of a lifetime.
*
PROPOSITION
I want to share with you some Biblical Beauty Secrets that come to us in the form of counsel from a mom to a son and her future-daughter-in-law. Or, if you prefer, we can call them practical life accessories… All these secrets teach us one primary thing: true beauty flows from who a person is, not just in how they look. Proverbs 31 isn’t about being “perfect” or looking perfect or doing everything. Proverbs 31 isn’t saying, “Do all this now.” It’s saying, “Grow into this kind of person.” It’s about what good character looks like over a lifetime.
*
APPLICATION
All these questions are addressed: How to be truly beautiful; How to raise daughters and sons; How to get a woman like the Proverbs 31 woman; How to get a man who values these things and not just the externals; What should I look for in a wife or husband; How do I encourage and keep this kind of spouse… it’s all here.
*
The New You…A new view of beauty…Marks of true beauty…based on Proverbs 31. We will see the Proverbs 31 woman in various times and seasons of her life. This will yield many "beauty secrets" or "life accessories" (as a man might prefer to see it):
*
Vibrant Spiritual Life
*
Respect for Parents
*
A Noble Character
*
Firm Personal Identity
*
Vocational Clarity
*
Improvise Solutions
*
Forgiving Heart
*
Grateful Service
*
Family Priority
*
Add Value
*
Addiction Free
*
Manage Money
*
Time Management
*
See the Funny
*
CONCLUSION
It was prophesied of Jesus in Isaiah 53:2b ...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Jesus was the most beautiful person who ever lived. But physically, he was a little homely. The world crucified beauty incarnate when He refused to bow to the standards of this world. Yet, such great sacrificial love is so bright, we don't even see the physical.
*
Is this you? It can be. The New You!