Misty Fitch | Fearfully Made

She is clothed with strength and dignity.
Proverbs 31:25

In a past post I talked about how much time I spend getting ready for a date.  I fix my hair and makeup just right, put on my favorite perfume, and I spend at least a week deciding what outfit I will wear.  Sometimes I go shopping and get a new one just for the occasion.  I’m willing to bet some of you can relate to this because you do it yourself.

There’s nothing at all wrong with doing those things but did you know there is no outfit, no amount of makeup, no perfect perfume, and no special hair product that will do justice for your true beauty without first clothing yourself with virtue?

Virtue is powerful.  It alone will make you absolutely stunning.  The world tells us every day through TV, movies, advertisements, commercials, and songs that virtue is dead.  It says no one wants a virtuous woman and no one with virtue exists, but that’s simply not true.  Remember the enemy is called the god of the world (in Job he’s called the god of the air), and he will create an illusion so magnificent for you that it’s difficult not to trust it as truth.

What Virtue Is

What do you think of when you hear the word “virtue”?  Is it a positive word for you, or does it make you think of someone who is weak and maybe not as attractive as the girl in the magazine?  The definition of virtue according to dictionary.com is:  moral excellence (the pursuit of the moral will of God in every area of life.*); goodness; righteousness (doing the right thing); and conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles. Does that sound boring or exciting to you?  Let’s take a closer look into what a virtuous person is:

• Strong – one must find strength to be able to fight the ideals of the world and not fall into believing them as truth.  She must be strong not to allow herself to conform to the ways of this world but instead permit herself to be transformed by the renewing of her mind (Rom. 12:2).
• Powerful—the virtuous woman carries the power of God in her very being.  There is no power greater than that which raised our savior from the dead, and the very same spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is living inside of her (Rom. 8:11).
• Feminine—a virtuous woman carries confidence in the beautiful creature she is, and her femininity can’t be hidden.
• Dignified—people look up to her and use her as a role-model.

What Virtue is Not

Unfortunately the idea of virtue has been twisted into something very different from the truth.  Maybe you’ve believed these lies because they’re so strongly reinforced in our daily lives.  A virtuous person is not:

• Weak
• Unattractive
• Boring – she loves on people, and people adore her.  Her family supports her decisions, and she has her hands and heart in many different areas of people’s lives.  She doesn’t have time to be bored or boring.
• Lonely

I heard a pastor just yesterday say, “Girls, instead of fighting age, focus on developing your virtue.”  Wow.  What a statement! Women today fight age tooth and nail.  Plastic surgery, Botox, and hair coloring is at an all-time high.  Women just don’t want to look their age, and many don’t realize beauty is found at every age and stage of life.  What is bad about showing one’s age?  Who said a 70 year old woman isn’t as beautiful as a 20 year old woman?

If you place your time and effort into developing your virtue rather than thinking about how you will cover up your grey hair and fix your wrinkles when you get older, you’ll look in the mirror and realize the perfection that is reflected back when you’re in your 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.

By the way, developing your virtue not only makes you much more beautiful than all those age defying techniques, it is also much cheaper!

*Bible.org

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