"And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD." Ezek. 16:14.
There is a burning question in the minds of just about every teenager that has ever lived: Am I attractive? I have asked it, my sister has, and so has ever other boy or girl that I have known. It seems however, that no matter the answer we are never satisfied, always searching to improve our physical image. Sadly, some take their quest to be beautiful or handsome to the extreme. Going to such lengths as altering their God given bodies by plastic surgery and other methods of transformation. The Bible puts it this way: "the eyes of man are never satisfied." (Pro. 27:20). No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we change, we will never be satisfied with what we see. There will always be something that we think we should alter.
This crisis isn't limited to those who are in the spotlight or those that are of the world, but also to those that consider themselves Christian. By grasping for the acceptance of our peers, we fall pray to the spirit of insecurity; we seek, but rarely understand what and where are beauty really is. I am sure we have all seen or heard of the ladies on TV that doll themselves up to look like some type of 21st century Jezebel. They are ridiculed and mocked because of this, yet they continue to think that just a little more makeup, a little brighter hair color, and they will find the golden jewel of their quest: Accepted beauty.
However, as Christians we should understand that the beauty of this world should not be our desire. We are not to try to satisfy the worlds eyes, but instead the eyes of God. "[T]he eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (I Pet. 3:12). We should seek to have true beauty of soul, mind, and body. True beauty however, is nothing this world can give. It comes, as all good things, from the presence of the Lord, from the throne of his grace. As our text here clearly states that the beauty we are admired for came from and is perfected by the Lord our God. Our beauty doesn't come from the things we get from the world, or the things we do to our bodies, but instead it was given to us by God, and our beauty is perfect because he is. Yet, we are not beautiful as the world sees it, but in the sight of God because we "worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness." (Psa. 29:2) Beauty that doesn't come from makeup or better clothes, but rather by hearing the Lord at his word and doing what he says. No matter what it is, no matter the sacrifice it is our duty and calling to say with everything that is within us that "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God." (Heb. 10:9) The Holy Ghost has come and dwells within us and guides us into all truth [John 16:13]. If we are to stop wearing something, or start doing something, he will guide us. When we begin to listen to his will and do what he says we are then and only then beautiful in the sight of God, made perfect through his comeliness. |
