As my daughter was preparing to get ready for the Harvest Party at church, she struggled with whether to dress up or not. “I am in high school, you know,” was her argument. I could tell that she really wanted to dress up.
Peyton, like any other girl, has loved to dress up since she was little. She even had a game called, Pretty, Pretty Princess, where with each turn you put on an earring, neckless, or bracelet. If you won the game, you got to wear the Princess crown! I can still recall how cute it was watching her play with her daddy, and how fun it was to see him wearing the jewelry. One time, he actually answered the door wearing his Pretty, Pretty Princess jewels.
No matter how old we get, we still long to be a Princess or should I say to be beautiful. That desire is a God-given desire. However, since we live in a fallen world, we often use the good things of God in unhealthy ways.
For example, the world tells us to be beautiful we must be a perfect size, have no defects, and a cover-girl face. Anybody measure up? I know I don’t. Most of us probably don’t but secretly we wished we did. How do I know? Just look at the millions of dollars spent every year on cosmetics, lotions, surgery’s, and beauty aids. I can’t say that I wouldn’t like a lift and a tuck myself!
Nevertheless, God says that true beauty comes from the inside out. “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 hop in God used to make themselves beautiful.”
Simply turning on the T.V. or looking at what women are wearing today is evidence that we’ve allowed the world to shape our views according to beauty instead of our Creator.
The world encourages us to seek a beauty that only last for a brief amount of time. God encourages us to cultivate a beauty that will never fade but only grow more beautiful with time.
God’s Word always has a way of bringing me back to truth. It removes the pressures of what the world says, and allows me to be nothing more than who God created me to be…beautiful in His sight.
Until next time…God bless you beautiful people!
Digging for Pearls says
Thanks for the reminder to cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit!