Beautiful

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week, I have been thinking of our definition of beautiful.  I have a younger friend that is getting married.  She is beautiful, inside and out, and I surprised she lasted this long as a single woman.  One thing about my friend is she is not a thin, wisp of a woman. She is not model skinny or picture perfect, but she is a beautiful woman.  Somewhere along the way we lost sight of what beauty really is.  We let media determine what is beautiful.  What we see in magazines or on TV is someone’s idea of beauty.  If you have done something worthy of a magazine cover, but they don’t think you are perfect enough, they will retouch your picture and take away your wrinkles and scars. They may even make extra weight is miraculously disappear. 

Why is this necessary?  Wrinkles and scars are evidence of life. Wrinkles can be proof of wisdom earned from years of living.  Scars are proof of trials overcome.   Extra weight, in many cases, can be a sign of plenty and a sign of good times.  Why do we shy away from such things? Why don’t we showcase and celebrate this?  I don’t understand.

Somewhere along the line, we decided that beauty was something that could be seen.  Well we are wrong.  Beauty that is only skin deep fades and is not beauty at all.  Sure we may think a person is attractive, but when they show themselves proud and selfish, it makes them much harder to love.

Beauty of the heart, mind and spirit will last the test of time, but it may not photograph well.  In my opinion, it is more important that we celebrate kindness, compassion and love. These are the marks of a true beauty, the kind of beauty that doesn’t fade. 

This is true of men as well as woman.  We woman don’t care if our husbands lose their hair. We don’t care if they gain a little extra weight.  We are more concerned that they are healthy.  If the one we love is kind, caring and faithful, that is normally all we need.  Everything else is window dressing. 

To God, the physical things, height, weight, skin color are not as important as the points of character we display.  He doesn’t even care if we are brilliant, or if we struggle.  He cares that we are honest and we display integrity in everything we do. He wants us show compassion to the needy, strength to the week and love to the hopeless.  God standards are what we should strive for.

Proverbs 31:30 “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (A woman or man who fears the Lord shall be praised – my own translation.)

The next time you put on wrinkle cream, or pluck a white hair, or stand on the scale – remember.  You are beautiful. 

MercyMe - Beautiful [Official Music Video] from mercymemusic on GodTube.