Looking for some character

This post is a bit of a follow-up on my last post (It's a Lie). After thinking about the idea of character, I heard a good sermon by Tommy Nelson on Song of Solomon. In Chapter 1, verse 3, Solomon's lover says, "your name is like perfume poured out." As I understand it, speaking of someone's name in this culture was like talking about their character. If you had a good name, you were someone of good character. So, she starts off by talking about his character- we have no idea what he looked like, how much money he had, if he came across as exciting, if he had a good sense of humor- nothing like that. This pretty much takes everything we consider to be important in potential dates and throws it out the window. This raises an interesting question of what someone of good character looks like. After thinking about it for a bit, here's what would seem to describe someone of good character: lives with integrity, honest, knows his/her Bible, applies truth to daily life, has a servant's heart, humble, peaceful, desires to grow spiritually, always there for friends, loves others even when it's hard or no one will know.

Going out with someone who is good-looking, funny and exciting is fun... no question about that. But, years later, those things start to lose their appeal and relationships based on those things start to fall apart (as evidenced by the divorce rate in this country). So, I'm trying to not be lured in by this culture's idea of what makes someone attractive and instead trying to look deeper to see what's inside and not just this external stuff. I guess it starts right here though- examining myself to see how I can be growing in character to be a better person, friend, disciple, employee, son, brother, etc.

So, here's a salute to all the Proverbs 31 women out there... we do notice and appreciate you and I certainly pray that if God wills marriage for me, it'll be with someone like that.