So, I've just been realizing that I haven't written on the blog in almost a year… Fail! So I decided to come back with something that has been on my mind for several months. For a while now, almost every time I get on Facebook I see a certain status that, to be honest, infuriates me to no end. Chances are that if you have a Facebook, you have seen what I am talking about: "Lms (like my status) for to be honest and rates!" Basically, teenagers are telling their friends to ask to be rated on their appearance, and they will also say one random fact about the relationship of the two involved. I have seen this come from both guys and girls, proclaimed Christians and not. The fact that these statuses exist and are everywhere really irks me. However, I must say that I am even more upset when I see young girls taking part and asking to be rated. I will go ahead and say what I'm thinking here: JUST STOP! You are not an animal in a contest to be the best looking. You are not an object made solely for men to lust after. You are a beautiful work of art created by the King of Kings. You are amazing. You are SO much more than what you see in the mirror. You are so much more than a number! We live in a world where we are told the lie over and over again that beauty is the most important thing. Surprise! It isn't.
"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb, I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well." ~Psalm 139 13-14 God knew you before you were even thought of. You were created in His image and His works are wonderful! When you allow someone to rate your appearance, you are allowing people to rate God's handiwork.
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
~Romans 5:8 Our God thought we were worth giving up His life for. He gave us His love and approval without our asking for it. Why are we begging for acceptance from others when God's acceptance is exponentially more important and was given to us as a gift?
"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
~1 Peter 3:3-5 There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best! I think that wearing makeup and clothes that flatter your figure and make you feel pretty and confident is wonderful! If you feel like you have to go around looking like you've just rolled out of bed and should wear a potato sack so that no one looks at you in the wrong way, you are never going to be comfortable or joyful in your skin. The problem comes when we are so concerned about our outward beauty, that we never work on our inner beauty; the beauty that stays with us as our hair grays and our skin wrinkles.
"Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness."
1 Timothy 2:9-10 We are told here by Paul in a letter to Timothy that we as Godly women are supposed to dress discreetly. This is a hard verse to understand! I think that Paul is saying that when believers are gathered together in church worshipping and learning about God, distractions should be minimal. Paul is by no means here telling us that we should wear potato sack dresses and paper bags over our heads so that no one will look at us. However, we should dress in a way that does not call attention to ourselves. We should be trying in every way, even in dress, to reflect God to those around us.
Now, I am a very vain person. I think about my appearance way too much because I am not confident in it. However, I am working on it! I think all women, and most men as well, want to be thought of as attractive. Compliments and attention make us feel good, that's just a fact! Here's what we have to remember: We have worth. The great thing is, our worth has nothing to do with what we look like. When we place our worth on our appearance, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Beauty fades, it goes away. We are not always going to look how we look right now. One day, our skin will age and wrinkle, our hair will thin, and our figures will fade and be forgotten. The thing is, it doesn't matter. At the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, your beauty comes from the inside out. When you have a beautiful heart and mind, you are beautiful and spread beauty wherever you go without even trying!
I just read through Proverbs 31 again, because this chapter tells us some things that make a woman beautiful. In verses 10-31, the only outward features that are mentioned about this Godly woman are that her arms are strong from the work she does, and that she smiles. The passage does not say that this woman has the prettiest eyes, or the fullest lips, or the best figure. It makes no mention of how thick or thin her hair is, we do not know if she was thin or curvy. We can know for sure, though, in reading about this woman that she is beautiful. We are told that this is an example of an excellent woman. Verse 10 says that she is worth far more than jewels! We see in verses 28 and 29 that her children bless her and her husband praises her. We also learn that her works are well known in the place where she lives. We are told that "her works praise her in the gates". This woman is beautiful because she is trustworthy, loyal, good, diligent, joyful, hardworking, wise, intelligent, strong, mindful of the poor, unafraid, dignified, kind, and, here's the kicker: She fears the Lord! A woman who fears the Lord is to praised! Ladies, this woman is a 10, and I don't even know what she looks like!
When you let someone rate you on your appearance, you are allowing them to publicly degrade you. Not only that, you are either allowing them to inflate your ego, or make you feel less beautiful. The fact here is, who cares whether some guy from your school that you don't even know very well thinks that you're a 3 or a 9? I have been learning lately through God's work in my life that the right guy truly doesn't care about what you look like. The right guy for you will love all of the things that you are insecure about, and he will make you feel beautiful just as you are. The people that you should be surrounding yourself with are the people who love this imperfect you. Your imperfections make you who you are! Embrace them, don't rate them.
"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb, I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well." ~Psalm 139 13-14 God knew you before you were even thought of. You were created in His image and His works are wonderful! When you allow someone to rate your appearance, you are allowing people to rate God's handiwork.
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
~Romans 5:8 Our God thought we were worth giving up His life for. He gave us His love and approval without our asking for it. Why are we begging for acceptance from others when God's acceptance is exponentially more important and was given to us as a gift?
"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
~1 Peter 3:3-5 There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best! I think that wearing makeup and clothes that flatter your figure and make you feel pretty and confident is wonderful! If you feel like you have to go around looking like you've just rolled out of bed and should wear a potato sack so that no one looks at you in the wrong way, you are never going to be comfortable or joyful in your skin. The problem comes when we are so concerned about our outward beauty, that we never work on our inner beauty; the beauty that stays with us as our hair grays and our skin wrinkles.
"Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness."
1 Timothy 2:9-10 We are told here by Paul in a letter to Timothy that we as Godly women are supposed to dress discreetly. This is a hard verse to understand! I think that Paul is saying that when believers are gathered together in church worshipping and learning about God, distractions should be minimal. Paul is by no means here telling us that we should wear potato sack dresses and paper bags over our heads so that no one will look at us. However, we should dress in a way that does not call attention to ourselves. We should be trying in every way, even in dress, to reflect God to those around us.
Now, I am a very vain person. I think about my appearance way too much because I am not confident in it. However, I am working on it! I think all women, and most men as well, want to be thought of as attractive. Compliments and attention make us feel good, that's just a fact! Here's what we have to remember: We have worth. The great thing is, our worth has nothing to do with what we look like. When we place our worth on our appearance, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Beauty fades, it goes away. We are not always going to look how we look right now. One day, our skin will age and wrinkle, our hair will thin, and our figures will fade and be forgotten. The thing is, it doesn't matter. At the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, your beauty comes from the inside out. When you have a beautiful heart and mind, you are beautiful and spread beauty wherever you go without even trying!
I just read through Proverbs 31 again, because this chapter tells us some things that make a woman beautiful. In verses 10-31, the only outward features that are mentioned about this Godly woman are that her arms are strong from the work she does, and that she smiles. The passage does not say that this woman has the prettiest eyes, or the fullest lips, or the best figure. It makes no mention of how thick or thin her hair is, we do not know if she was thin or curvy. We can know for sure, though, in reading about this woman that she is beautiful. We are told that this is an example of an excellent woman. Verse 10 says that she is worth far more than jewels! We see in verses 28 and 29 that her children bless her and her husband praises her. We also learn that her works are well known in the place where she lives. We are told that "her works praise her in the gates". This woman is beautiful because she is trustworthy, loyal, good, diligent, joyful, hardworking, wise, intelligent, strong, mindful of the poor, unafraid, dignified, kind, and, here's the kicker: She fears the Lord! A woman who fears the Lord is to praised! Ladies, this woman is a 10, and I don't even know what she looks like!
When you let someone rate you on your appearance, you are allowing them to publicly degrade you. Not only that, you are either allowing them to inflate your ego, or make you feel less beautiful. The fact here is, who cares whether some guy from your school that you don't even know very well thinks that you're a 3 or a 9? I have been learning lately through God's work in my life that the right guy truly doesn't care about what you look like. The right guy for you will love all of the things that you are insecure about, and he will make you feel beautiful just as you are. The people that you should be surrounding yourself with are the people who love this imperfect you. Your imperfections make you who you are! Embrace them, don't rate them.
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