When you look into the mirror, what do you see? A friend or a foe? Are you thankful for God's creation or critical of His handiwork? How much time and energy do you spend critiquing and criticizing your facial features? your hair? your body? Do you compare yourself to magazine cover models or to your girlfriends, getting discouraged that you don't seem to measure up to everyone else?
What you see in the mirror has a lot to do with what you feel in your heart. Perhaps you look into the mirror often because you do like what you see- a lot. Maybe you believe that others don't measure up to you. Perhaps vanity and pride are more of an issue for you than a poor body image. I
I certainly hope that neither of these scenarios describes you. I hope you like what you see in the mirror because you are one of God's beautiful creations, but i also hope that you don't let your beauty go to your head. Somewhere in between "I hate the way i look!" and "Look at me! Aren't I hot?" lies a delicate balance that i pray you will find and maintain throughout life. Why is this so important? Because either extreme can lead you down the path of sexual compromise at lightning speed.
Painting a New Picture of Perfect Beauty
Wher does our society get its ideas about what makes a girl beautiful? Sharon Hersh, author of "Mom, I Feel Fat!" sat down with twenty-five middle-school-aged girls and asked them to describe the perfect girl. Their responses, in order of importance, were as follows:
•thin
•blond
•popular
•beautiful
•athletic
•has big breasts
•has a boyfriend
•confident
•straight white teeth (no braces!)
•has her own car
•doesn't have zits
•has her own phone
I agree with Sharon- the only one we know who fits that description is Barbie. It's amazing how a childhood toy can mold a young girl's ideas about where beauty comes from. I think i echoe the heart's cry of many young women when i say this:As growing up, the reflection in my mirror looked increasingly more like my family's genetic features than Barbie. I felt so betrayed by my own body becayse it didn't grow into the shape I thought it should be.
Many young women grow up with unrealistic expectations about their bodies. It's not Barbie dolls that create these false ideas of beauty. So do television celebrities, movie stars, magazine cover models, fashion designers, and many other aspects of today's pop culture.
But wher does beauty really come from? Let's go back to the Bible to see what the Creator of beauty has to say about where it comes from and how we are to use it.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears [respects and serves] the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)
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. (1 Peter 3:3-5)
Do these scriptures say that we shoudn't style our hair or wear nice jewelry or clothes? Of course not. The Bible simply says that this kind of beauty fades and can't be depended upon. These verses are good reminders that physical beauty isn't going to last forever and that our primary focus shouldn't be on our outward beauty. However, the beauty that comes from loving and serving God with a happy heart is a beauty that endures even when your figure has fallen south and wrinkles adorn your face. True beauty doesn't come from fresh makeup, the latest hairstyles, or how you look in your blue jeans. Rather, it radiates from the inside out, from a heart that delights in the LORD.Here's another verse to consider:
So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. 14 And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.
15 " 'But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. (Ezekiel 16:13-15)
The prophet Ezekiel was referring to Jerusalem in this passage and used this analogy to say, "Hey! You've taken the spiritual beauty that God gave you and served gods with it! You're doin whatever you want to instead of being an example to other nations!" I believe this passage also has a message for you today. God says (through Ezekial), "The splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect." In other words, perfect beauty comes as a gift from the Lord to all who believe in Him, not from flawless skin, bleached teeth, or size zero jeans. God still bestows beauty on us- spiritual and physical beauty- so that we can bring glory and attention to Him as our Creatore, no to ourselves. We are to trust in Him for the things we want (such as attention and affection in healthy relationships), not in our physical beauty. Such will eventually fail us, but God never will.
When we forget that beauty comes from a heart that loves God, we assume that beauty comes from a body that looks a certain way. What is your body doesn't look like the image of beauty that you have in your mind? What effect can that have on your self-image and your relationships?
"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."- Ralph Waldo Emerson
In Christ,
Courtney ♥
