By: Grace Metzger
Charm is deceptive and beauty
is fleeting but a woman who
fears the Lord will be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
I have debated about writing about this subject for quite a bit. I didn't feel qualified to talk about it when it's a concept that I still struggle with. The idea of not focusing on outward beauty and focusing more on what is in your heart is something that a lot of people also struggle with. The more I studied the more I realized how different this way of thinking is from what the world promotes.
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Every time I open TikTok, I get more videos on how I need to fix myself, stop eating sugar, don't use a towel to dry your face, use this facewash, don't use this, it became very overwhelming. I felt worse about myself every time I opened the app. Everything I did was wrong and these people with perfect skin, perfect hair, and perfect bodies did "everything right."
This was a problem for me, so I did the only thing I could think of and looked at what the Bible said about outward beauty. Turns out God doesn't care about our outward beauty as He cares more about what is in our hearts. In 1 Peter 3:3-4 it even says, "Don't let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, but rather what is inside the heart - the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
It didn't surprise me that God doesn't care how we look, what did surprise me was the phrase "great worth in God's sight." Imagine having the qualities that not only are imperishable but that God says are of great worth.
The Bible gives us a amazing description of what a beautiful women is. One specific verse I love is in Proverbs 30:25-26, "Strength and honor are her clothing and she can laugh at the time to come. Her mouth speaks wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue."
I love that this is true even in the Bible times. Esther is a story that comes to mind when I think of this. Esther was chosen to become queen because of her physical beauty. But it wasn’t her physical beauty that makes her story so important, but rather her bravery, faith, and trust in God. Her beauty wasn't able to save her people but because she had strength and honor she was able to save her people.
As water reflects the face
So the heart reflects the person.
Proverbs 27:19
Our outward, worldly beauty will fade one day, no matter how much we try to avoid it. But what won't fade is the our strength, our faith, our gentleness, our compassion, and our spirit. That's who we truly are. Not whatever our physical appearance shows but what our hearts shows.
Discussion question
1. Do you ever struggle on focusing on inner beauty over outer beauty?
2. What do you do when you're struggling with focusing on outer beauty to align yourself with God?
I never used to struggle with this until I started to show my age. It's really hard to see photos of myself. I just focus on trying to be healthy, even though that gets harder too as all the health problems emerge as we age as well.
ReplyDeleteSo good Grace! I definitely struggle from time to time. The best thing to do is get into God’s Word and find Truth.
ReplyDeleteThe struggle can happen at any age, as i notice myself fighting it more as I age. This >> "But what won't fade is the our strength, our faith, our gentleness, our compassion, and our spirit. That's who we truly are." Amen! May this be the beauty seen in us each day! May He bless you today, Grace!
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