Driving home the other day, I found myself captivated by the bright pinks, oranges and yellows that the sun made as it set on the horizon. It was like the entire sky was a beautiful canvas. I was amazed by the intrinsic beauty of it all.
Which got me thinking how different the world defines beauty compared to how God defines it. For example, a cute dress you wear and get compliments on verses a golden sunset. They don’t even compare.
We seem to place so much value on the small temporary things and forget about the deeper and truer meaning of beauty.
Just a little while ago I was convicted of this, on something as simple as my Pinterest page. I had titled one of my saved boards “BEAUTY”, which consisted of hairstyles, outfits and makeup ideas…as if that is what makes up my beauty.
It got me thinking, WHO EVEN CAME UP WITH THIS DEFINITION OF BEAUTY?
Always wearing the cutest outfit with perfectly styled hair, and makeup to hide all my scars and acne, but still look natural. Its exhausting! And kinda depressing if you think about it. We are taught and encouraged to hide all the scars, extra weight, zits, etc…that make you, YOU. Basically so that anything natural about you is no longer natural. We live in a world of touch ups, where there is literally hundreds of apps to make your thighs smaller, your boobs and butt bigger, and any other imperfection you could think of.
Who came up with this FAKE STANDARD of beauty? Who decided that scars and zits aren’t beautiful?
I can tell you one thing, it was not God!
“You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.” Song of Solomon 4:7 (MSG)
Celebrate the things that make you, YOU! No longer hide under baggy clothes, or pounds of makeup. Friend you are beautiful exactly as you are at this very moment, not because of what any boy or girlfriend says to you, or what social media shows or what makeup and clothes companies say, you are beautiful BECAUSE GOD MADE YOU WITH HIS OWN TWO HANDS! Because he see’s NO FLAW IN YOU. He designed that very thing you may see as an impurity for a reason, and He loves it!
You are a masterpiece girl! There is no one on this Earth or anyone who has or will live that is like you. Just think about that! You are a one of a kind. How cool!
Own it! Live like the masterpiece that you are. Hand made by the same guy who paints the sunsets. Now if he puts that much effort and beauty into something that only lasts a couple of minutes each day, how much more of himself has he invested into you?
“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.” Matthew 6:28-29 (MSG)
When I realized how false this definition of beauty was that I used for my Pinterest board, I later changed it to “Just Extra”. Because while there is nothing wrong with wanting to look cute and get inspiration for a hair or makeup tutorial, I had to remember what the goal at the end of the day was? Is that where my confidence came from? The temporary material things around me or was it instead in God who MADE ME ON PURPOSE, with INTENTIONALITY and CARE?
Beauty as the world sees compared to beauty as God sees is very different, but we can be girls with a new perspective of beautiful, because of the lens of our Creator.
And this has the power to transform not only how we view ourselves, but also how we view other people. Our minds are so fixed on the outer-appearances of people that we base how beautiful they are simply on looks. Which is probably why many of us fall into the trap of maintaining our outer appearances because of the judgement of others. But what if we could break this awful cycle of false beauty and learn to see other girls beauty from their hearts and character and personality. We could change the world’s definition of beauty back to what God originally intended.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)
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