When it comes to beauty, many of us feel “insecure”. Our
world is full of mixed messages about beauty, what it is and how we can get it.
Beauty has become a valuable commodity and we will try anything to become more
beautiful. For me personally it is a constant struggle and an insecurity. This is why I did this challenge because I
believe that I am not alone in the struggle. Sometimes we are so focused on our outward appearance
that we lose who God created us to be.
Yes, I believe that we should work on our physical self to get fit and
healthy but we also need to work on our inner self. For some of us as we begin
to work on our physical self we become too focused on our outward appearance. It can cause us to forget who we are on the
inside. There are some of you who may be
so insecure with yourself that it doesn’t matter how hard you work on your health
and no matter how much weight you lose you are still going to struggle with
your beauty. I have to remind myself of the wonderful
things that God created about me that make me beautiful on the inside and the
outside. So let’s take a look at God’s
definition of beauty.
God's
definition of beauty
So what really makes you beautiful?
God has a surprising answer in 1
Peter 3:3-6
Your beauty should not come from
outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and
fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading
beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used
to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,
like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her
daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
According to God, what makes you
beautiful is the “inner self”, a “gentle and quiet spirit” (v.4-5). In
God’s sight, inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. The way to
really “light up the world” is not by flipping your hair or smiling at the
ground, but by developing your inner self.
Inner
beauty lasts longer
Not only does inner beauty hold more
value to God, but inner beauty doesn’t fade with age. We obsess over how clear
our skin is, but one day our faces will be lined and wrinkled. We work hard at
having the perfect hair, but one day it will be grey and wiry. But the hope of
heaven that we have in Jesus means that beauty coming from a gentle and quiet
spirit is a beauty of eternal significance, which doesn’t fade.
So, whenever you spend time on your
physical appearance, why not commit to a parallel effort to enhance your inner
beauty? Perhaps next time you read a chapter in a fashion or fitness magazine,
you could then read a chapter from the Bible or a Christian book. Or, after you
have finished your morning “beauty routine”, spend some time praying,
addressing some inner blemishes or flaws. And every morning when you look in
the mirror to check your outward appearance, do a “soul check”. Scrutinize
what’s on your conscience, what’s in your heart. Then decide what the focus of
your day will be: the hair and the skin, or the person within?
Yes, that’s what will make you
beautiful.
