Lady of Virtue

Chapter Four - Lady of Virtue

"One of life's most costly and beautiful objects is born out of pain and irritation -- the pearl."
To me, the first sentence of this chapter was a powerful one. It was like, 'bam! Hey girl, all the bad things that you run into are just shaping you into the beautiful woman that God plans for you to be.' Yeah, all that from the first sentence, I know. =)

So this chapter starts off talking about Ruth. I'm not sure if you know about Ruth, but she had a rough life. Her husband died. Her father in law died. And if that wasn't enough she had to move way far away with her bitter mother in law to a place where she didn't know anybody or anything. She had a new job and basically a new life. Most people would be like, 'okay God, this is ridiculous, you suck.' But not Ruth. Ruth was a lady of virtue and she knew that God was using these situations to turn her into a pearl. And guess what? Boaz fell in love with her! Not because she had gorgeous hair or a bangin' bod, but because of her character and virtue. "A woman of virtue is irresistible to a godly man."

"The Body Beautiful Trap" - thank you, Hollywood. How many times have you ever thought that you are never going to marry the man of your dreams because you aren't pretty enough, skinny enough, tall enough, tan enough? Hundreds? Thousands? Probably. We have this lame-o idea in our heads that if we are "beautiful" then we're automatically going to find prince charming and live happily ever after. Okay, stop, blow the whistle. Physical beauty is not mandatory for marriage. Embed that in your brain, please. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says "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." This doesn't mean that braided hair and fine clothes are bad. God doesn't want you to look like you've never showered or washed your clothes. We, as ladies, should always try to look our best. However, our outward beauty should not be more important than our inward beauty. Let's face it: we're going to get wrinkles. Most of us will have cellulite by the time we're 25, if not sooner, and our boobs are going to sag. So if you're plan was to get married based on looks: get a new game plan. However, inner beauty only gets more beautiful. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)

Fit for a King
When you picture your perfect man (we'll call him Prince Charming) what do you see? Do you picture some good for nothing scrub who gets drunk and has a different girl on his arm every night? Or do you picture a man of character--someone who is loyal, faithful and kind? Exactly what I was thinking. Let's all just channel TLC for a moment. 'No, I don't want no scrub. A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me.' Okay, i'm done. Thanks. =) But seriously, what kind of woman do you think a godly man is looking for? A shallow, selfish girl? Or a woman of character? To marry a prince, you must first become a princess. To marry into royalty, you must be appropriately prepared. Princes marry princesses. How can you sit around waiting for Prince charming to rescue you, if you aren't a princess? Seriously, girls?! I hear it all the time. Everyone is all 'I want a gentleman, I want a prince, I want someone who doesn't get smashed every weekend.' We can't expect a guy to respect us that much if we don't show him the same respect. You have to become a woman of God. We need to be a better person. As you set your attention to developing godly character, Christ will change you into the beautiful princess He created you to be.

I never knew how truly amazing Rebekah was. After reading this chapter, I realized that I need to become more like her. Rebekah was a virgin. She lived with and worked for her father, and she had never been in a relationship. One day she was at the well getting water, and a stranger showed up and asked for a sip. Not only did she quickly give him a drink, but she then RAN to the well to get his camels enough to drink until they were full. She offered him and his animals a place to stay for the night. She didn't do it to 'catch' a man. She didn't do it because she thought it would in someway benefit her. She did it because she was a lady of virtue. She was kind and generous and selfless. She wasn't out looking for a man, but God sent her one anyway. This stranger was Isaac, and they fell in love and were married. I don't know about you, but i'm a hopeless romantic and I just think that is such a cute love story. "Isaac...lifted up his eyes....Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted...Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent...and she became his wife, and he loved her..." (Genesis 24:63-64,67)

If Rebekah had not shown such godly character, my bet is on the fact that Isaac probably wouldn't have been so attracted to her. I mean, she was probably all nasty sweaty from working all day for her father and going back and forth to the well to get water. Maybe he would have thought she was cute, but it wouldn't have lasted. It would have been one of those superficial high school relationships. You know the ones i'm talking about, the quarterback dates the captain of the cheerleading squad for a few weeks because they look good together. (I'm not saying it never works, don't egg my house, but you know what I mean.) Outer beauty fades, so we need to develop inner beauty so that we have the capability to live happily ever after.

Let's go back to the pearl. How many of you have pearl necklaces, or have at least seen them? The real ones are beautiful. They are classy and elegant, and they stay that way. Imitations are beautiful as well. They shine in a way that draws you to them. But eventually, the imitations crack or fade and you get rid of them for a new one. Can you not see that is exactly how our beauty is? We need to have a pearl necklace that is pure, that won't crack or chip. If we want a pure necklace, we need to have pearls of character: peace, love, patience, joy, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, goodness and self control. The pearls that are going to chip and ruin your necklace? Impurity, jealousy, immorality, drunkenness, anger, and things like that. So maybe your looking at your strand of pearls and you realize that you have a few bad beads. Just remove them! Get rid of the bad bead and replace it with something that pleases God.

I know that this is getting long, but there is one more thing that I need to share with you. The three ways to tap into the pearl-producing power and get rid of your bad beads.
1. "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." The holy spirit lives inside of all of us, and we need to wake up everyday with a desire and a decision to live life in a way that will be pleasing to God. Not just during church or between the hours of 9 and 6, but all day everyday.
2. "Do not quench the Spirit." The book compares this with throwing cold water on a fire. At first I didn't get it, but now I do. It's like, if you feel in your heart that God is calling you to do something: DO IT. Don't tell God that you'll do it later or that it isn't a good idea or give Him a lame excuse. I guarantee that God is smarter than you, so you need to just listen to Him and do what you feel is on your heart.
3. "...be filled with the Spirit." This one seems like it would be a 'duh' thing, but sometimes it's not so easy. To be filled with the Spirit doesn't mean to just top off your heart with God. You need to be empty before you can be filled. So, in this case, I compared the Holy Spirit with milk. I know, only me, right? Anyways, so pretend you have a glass of milk that is half full. Awesome, except that glass has been sitting on your table for 3 days. Not so awesome. Well, that 3 day old milk is your life right now. But, do your happy dance, there's a gallon of fresh milk in the fridge! Woohoo! Guess who's the good milk? That's right, the Holy Spirit! So...what are you going to do? Just pour the good milk on top of the 3 day old nastiness? Not so much. You have to empty your glass and then fill it with the good stuff. I know, it all makes sense now, doesn't it? What can I say...God is good. =)

I know that this post was much longer than the one for the other chapters, but I really felt in my heart that I should go a little bit deeper with you all. I pray that each and every person who reads this will allow God to turn them into a beautiful pearl. Don't settle for cheap imitation by covering it up. Pour out your old milk and let the Holy Spirit overflow your heart and life. Your prince will come, but you must be ready for him. You can be royalty. Become a princess. Jesus loves you.



peaceandlove<3