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Oct 08, 2024 18:00pm

Letters to My Children: Beauty

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To My Children,

You are very beautiful. There is no doubt that God made a masterpiece when He made you. But

I often find you worrying too much about the way you look. I know you want to look nice and

present yourself nicely to others, but God says outward beauty is not the most important thing

about you.

Outward beauty perishes. As we age, our skin wrinkles, our hair grays, our chin sags, our joints

get knobby. Many people look in the mirror and wish they could erase the effects of time, but

that is simply not possible. The Bible says all flesh is like grass or the flower that fades—it is new

and vivacious for a brief moment; then it withers away.

When God was choosing the man who would be king after Saul, He told the prophet Samuel to

find him among the sons of Jesse. Samuel saw the first son, who was tall and handsome, and

thought, surely, he must be the new king. But God anointed David as king—the son who was

least in stature and ruddy in appearance; the one who no one else would look at and think, He

is king material. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at what’s more

important—the heart.

Before you start to think I’m against makeup and fashion, let me say that we were born with an

innate appreciation of the beautiful. We can all see a rose or a sunset, a painting or a person,

and recognize the beauty in them. But that beauty is meant to point us to something greater. It

should inspire awe and wonder at the One who made such beautiful things—whose power,

creativity, and intricacy of design had the idea for such wonderful creations, and also the ability

to bring them into existence.

Our outward beauty is meant to put the awesomeness of our Maker on display. And we can do

this, not by dolling ourselves up and primping with products to put all the attention on us, but

by showing people the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is

very precious (1 Peter 3:4). There’s nothing inherently wrong with spending some time on our

appearance, but is the reason we put on makeup or style our hair or wear a certain outfit to get

people to notice us or our God?

Proverbs 31:30 says those outward things don’t matter and are prideful if they’re just meant to

draw attention to ourselves. The thing about a person that should be noticed and praised is a

person’s fear of the Lord—not a boastful “look at me” spirituality but one that shows God is

worthy to be reverenced and awed.

I am not against thoughtfully and moderately accentuating the beauty God created us with.

But, I want you to stop and consider some things the next time you look in the mirror: How

much time are you spending on cultivating your outward appearance versus your inward

appearance? How much time do you spend on Bible reading and prayer each day versus the

time you spend on hair, makeup, or clothes? How much time do you spend getting ready to go

to church on Sunday mornings versus how much time you spend preparing your heart for

worship? When people meet you, what do they notice most about you—your looks or your

joyful and kind attitude?

Remember that a woman who spends more time beautifying herself inwardly by developing

godly characteristics will be more beautiful than what thousands of dollars of beauty products

and hours in front of the mirror can buy.

I love you. Grow in godliness and in your love for God.