Here is a question I have been thinking about: If someone introduced you to another person, what would you hope they would say?

Would you rather hear, ‘He is a good looking guy,’ or, ‘He is a man of integrity. He keeps his word. He is dependable. He loves God. He is someone you can trust’ ?

I think most men would rather be respected than simply admired. And honestly, I think women are more like that than we sometimes realize.

Yes, it is kind to tell a woman she is beautiful. But if beauty is all that is ever noticed, especially before you have taken the time to know her, it can unintentionally reduce her to the most outward part of who she is.

What if someone introduced her by saying, ‘She loves Jesus. She is a woman of integrity. She is wise. She brings peace into a room. She is dependable. She is trustworthy. She loves people well’ ?

Would those words not carry so much more weight? Scripture reminds us that God looks beyond outward appearance and sees the heart. What we value reveals something about the kind of people we are becoming.