1 Samuel 25:3
“The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.”

People everywhere are similar, irrespective of their place of birth. There are common traits among most women, irrespective of nationality, and the same applies to men. These are traits stamped on us by our shared humanity.

For example, most men desire success and wealth, and there is nothing innately wrong with that desire. Similarly, most women love beauty and want to be seen as such. Again, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with that.

However, these desires alone can be destructive and need additional traits to balance out. In fact, without balancing traits, our natural human desires and pursuits make us dangerous to ourselves and others around us. Let’s analyze each gender.

Women. They desire beauty. However, besides physical beauty, every woman needs what the Bible calls “good understanding.” Without this balancing trait, their beauty will be like pearls on a swine. In fact, her beauty will destroy her and others as well.

Men. Most men desire success, power, and riches. If not counterbalanced, this desire will make them harsh and crude. As men pursue relevance, a major balancing trait every man needs is gentleness and humility.

Look at Abigail. While Abigail is described as “beautiful,” she is also said to have “good understanding.” The NLT calls her “sensible.” We learn later that this sensibleness saved her husband from David’s wrath.

Look at Nabal. The Bible says he was very wealthy and was obviously very successful. However, he was also very harsh and evil. The NLT says he was “crude and mean.” That’s what success can do to you if not properly balanced.

As we seek wealth, prosperity, success, and beauty, may we always pray for the balancing traits that will protect us from being destructive. We know how both Abigail and Nabal ended. May we learn from them. Amen.