I guess that since this verse contains no command, and promises no obvious reward, it would be easy to undervalue what it is saying – that would be a great mistake.
We live in a world where there is a constant striving for beauty. We perhaps think of this as a modern Western pursuit, but history shows that in every age and every culture women have placed their physical beauty as a high priority (no doubt greatly driven by men’s obsession with it). According to the Daily Mail the average woman in Britain will spend £9000 on make-up in her lifetime! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1256595/Face-value-How-average-woman-spend-9-000-make-lifetime.html Americans are reported to have spent $33.3 billion on cosmetics in 2010. And little wonder when the advertisers assure us (on regulated TV advertising!) that we can now enjoy “age reversing cosmetics”, “laser creams” and numerous other products apparently capable of actually making us more youthful!
Against this obsession with appearance, this verse sets forth a striking contrast. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. This never ending pursuit of beauty is “vain”, the promise of Charm is a deceitful promise, BUT the goal worth pursuing, the goal that actually delivers what it promises is “the fear of the Lord”.
So the challenge to the ladies is obvious – where is your effort spent? In the pursuit of that which is deceitful and vain, or in the pursuit of that which brings praise and great reward? And the answer to that question will surely be closely governed by the answer to another – Men what do you most prize in a woman? I’ve never yet heard of a man who looked at another woman because he was struck by her fear of the Lord! Who contemplates leaving their wife because another woman has a greater fear of the Lord than her? Men, if we could only get it right and delight in the true beauty of a woman and convince her that it the degree to which she images Christ that we so love and cherish, then surely she would enjoy pursuing that goal with far more joy and assurance.