Something has come to my attention and it breaks my heart. I have not been able to stop thinking about this over the past few days. I see evidence of it everywhere and with each additional confirmation my heart is deeply saddened.
Our human nature compels us to sin. This world and its unspoken & spoken standards only aids our human nature to be more sinful. It corrupts our hearts to naturally compare ourselves to others, think negatively of others, covet what we do not possess, and a slew of other sinful acts.
What has been laid so heavily on my heart is the dilemma between what our world’s society calls beautiful and what God calls beautiful. Everyday we walk down the street, look on the internet, browse social media, etc and in our minds we separate the beautiful from the ugly. I do this as well. We make statements like “she’s really beautiful”, “he’s hot”, “I wish I had her hair”, “I need to lose weight so I can look like that” etc. On the flip side we make these statements as well “she’s not pretty at all”, “he’s ugly”, “her nose is too big”, “he needs to lose some weight” etc. Can you deny that both sets of these statements haven’t been thought in your mind or said aloud before? I know that I can’t.
For over a year now I have been convicted of looking at people who are, by society’s standards, not beautiful or they need to change a few things to be beautiful. In the past year God has changed my heart to see not just what society views as beautiful, but what He views as beautiful. Let me tell you, they are completely different things. The book of Genesis states that we are ALL made in the image of God. All of us. Every single one. So how can I look at someone and say that they are not beautiful? How can I think that their nose is too big or overall they just aren’t as pretty as this other person? How can I do that? If I am to make that statement then in turn I am saying that God is not beautiful either. And that, my friends, simply isn’t possible. God isn’t just beautiful, he is the embodiment of the word. He IS Beauty. He encompasses the word. So there is no way anyone who is made in his image can be ugly.
God isn’t just beautiful, he is the embodiment of the word. He IS Beauty.
This has been on my heart and in my daily mindset over the past year but this week God showed me the other side to this as well. I had a conversation with a friend about one of their friends, who by society’s standards is very beautiful—I mean he is a model and actor. In this conversation, my friend was sharing with me how hard it is for this person to interact with others. How everyone is always making comments about how beautiful he is and they are constantly trying to talk with him and they aren’t shy about it at all. I’ve seen women respond to him in public and it unnerving. Because of this, it is hard for him to discern who is genuine or who is just talking to him because he has a pretty face. It was then that I started to see that we don’t just demean who society calls ugly but we also dignify those who society calls beautiful. We categorize people.
The more I observed this, it the more evidence appeared. I keep wondering how or what I can do to put a stop to this, but I am realizing that I can’t. It would mean putting a stop to the sinful nature inside every human heart. I cannot do that, only God can. What I can do is wake up everyday and choose to see the beauty that God created. To look upon his children with awe and respect, knowing that each on is created in God’s image and is breathtaking in their own way. I challenge you to do the same.
So ask yourself... How do you view beauty?
So ask yourself... How do you view beauty?
