Beauty

Source: Pinterest

Again I write on appearance. It's something I struggle with. I find myself thinking far too often if only I had so and so's nose or so and so's eyes, then I'd be beautiful. But honestly beauty is not just on the outside. You can't measure it. You can't buy it. There is no definition or equation that makes somebody necessarily beautiful on the outside.

I keep coming to grips with the truth. Beauty is more than skin deep. And most importantly, God creates true beauty. 

 Battling the lies of false beauty

1. God created me and you. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Even my freckles, eyebrows and nose. Beautifully made outside and inside. My heart, my lungs. The breath I just took. Who but God could create something so complex as humans?

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:14

2. Beauty is more than lipstick and eyeshadow. It's a quiet spirit, a humble spirit. It's inward. It's selfless. Beauty is pure. No matter how hard we try to dress up our appearance, a grimy, neglected heart can't hide.

Only by cultivating our inward spirit, our heart, and our relationship with God can we find real beauty.

Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3: 3-4

3. Why do we feel inadequate, not pretty enough, and maybe a little ugly?

Well, it stems from sin. We're selfish---I'm selfish. We want to feel good enough and worthy. We want praise and acceptance... for the wrong reasons. Instead of being sufficient in Christ, we've taken it upon ourselves to try and feel accepted. But without Christ we can't be adequate. We fail. Then we may try and blame it on things that can't be changed, like appearance. (And if you think about it, we're really blaming God for making us the way He did) So instead of trying to stand out by ourselves, we need to lean on Christ, examine our hearts, and take a step backward from our sinful motives.

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

As a side note, I do not have anything against makeup or looking pretty. I am merely pointing out that we can get caught up on only the outward. Thanks for reading!

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What does beauty mean to you? What are your thoughts?