"No, she wasn't beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul"- F. Scott Fitzgerald
One look at Instagram or 5 minutes watching TV adverts soon reveals what the world says is beautiful. You can buy shampoos to make your hair shinier, subscribe to exercise routines to slim your waist; you can even buy gummy bears which give you sparkly teeth! All these companies exist for their own benefit, exploiting people’s insecurities and creating an image of unattainable and finite beauty. But the world only seems to focus on physical beauty. Take me, an average 18 year old, I can spend too long staring into the mirror, trying to achieve a desirable look, perfect my makeup and my hair; it has almost become a ritual. The thing is, it’s okay to look after your body; in fact, the Bible says in Corinthians “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” Yet, if a temple is where we should worship God, why do we criticise and find fault with the “temple” that is our bodies? We must be careful that we don’t turn the world into a God that we choose to serve with the perfecting of our bodies. When Paul the Apostle talks about our bodies being “a temple of the Holy Spirit within you” his main emphasis is on serving God with our hearts, with how we live and how we love. Now, you might spend 20 minutes every day doing your skincare and makeup routine, but do you spend that time everyday making sure your heart is serving God the best it can? Has that become a habit of yours? If not, why not start today? I know I am going to try.
The world may talk constantly about physical beauty, but the Bible doesn’t place much emphasis on it, it certainly doesn’t prescribe a body type or hairstyle that every Christian should aspire to. In fact, the beauty that the Bible refers to and exonerates is inner beauty. 1 Peter 3:3-4 puts it perfectly, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather, 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.” God is much more concerned with your heart, whether you love his people, whether you’re kind, whether your heart breaks for what breaks His. You see, God loves us for who we are, whether we feel we’ve met the standards of the world or not. I believe he places much more importance on our hearts, because He’s a personal and relational God and He wants us to reflect His heart. After all, the only way we can show God’s love to others is by reflecting Christ-like qualities. I don’t know about you but when I think of Jesus I don’t really spend ages dwelling on whether he looked like a Vogue model or not. If that were important the Bible would be a picture book or magazine. Instead the Bible recounts stories of a man who changed the world with his love for others. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, it’s clear that he’s made an impact on history, because of who he was and not what he looked like. Jesus left a legacy because of his love not because of his looks.
So what does the Bible say is beautiful? The second part of Proverbs 31 details the ideal or virtuous woman who is “worth far more than rubies”, that is because she “opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy”, “she is clothed with strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future” and “she speaks with wisdom”. This Proverb does not mention physical beauty, in fact it goes on to say “charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting” but it mentions characteristics of generosity, kindness, dignity and wisdom. A virtuous, beautiful woman is fully dependent on God, and that is why she is not fearful but precious and highly regarded among her community. In fact “the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”.
You might be thinking, alright, but how do I develop those characteristics and is it worthwhile?
One way to develop these characteristics is to spend more time with God. I encourage you to make ‘time with God’ part of your daily routine. As you read the Bible and pray to Him, you will understand his desires, you will learn about the things that make and break His heart. By spending more time with your friends, you understand them better and what makes them tick; in the same way, as you hang out with God more, you will understand Him better and His concept of a beautiful heart will be revealed to you. By reading the Bible, you’ll undoubtedly begin to notice how noble character traits, for example humility, are elevated and praised. If you have the opportunity to exercise that characteristic, I urge you to do so; it may take conscious effort and it will take time, but eventually it will become natural and part of your personality. And even if you don't get it quite right, our God gives unlimited second chances; He loves you for trying, because He knows you are trying to please Him. As well as this, He won’t let you do this on your own; He is with you every step of the way.
The answer to the question “Is it worthwhile?” is yes! ‘Physical beauty fades;’ (That is one thing that the Bible and the world both agree on). Characteristics like wisdom and generosity, and qualities such as kindness and a good heart, last a lifetime. When played out, these virtues can permanently impact people’s lives and even make a mark in history (consider the life of Mother Teresa whose kindnesses towards the poorest people in the world will never be forgotten), but perhaps more significantly, your inner beauty is what God uses the most. People may be initially attracted to you because of your beauty, but lasting relationships depend on who you are as a person. If you want a full, happy life, if you want to make an impact and show God how much you love Him, then it’s your inner beauty that counts. Roald Dahl once wrote “if you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely”. The truth is, when we have a beautiful heart, when we are kind, when we put others before ourselves, when we look outwards and not inwards, then we are instantly more beautiful to everyone or ‘we attract people left, right and centre’, just like Jesus did.
Putting it into Practice
As mentioned above, there are numerous ways of putting this idea of true beauty into practice. Spending time with God and reading your Bible is the best way to do so because it will highlight to you the characteristics that God wants you to cultivate. In addition to this, once you've read the Bible and understood the traits that God sees as most beautiful, try putting them into practice and exercising them in your daily routine. Finally, you could read books or watch films about inspirational role models and perhaps try emulating their actions. For example, I'm currently reading Gutsy Women by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton which explores the stories of some truly influential women who have incredible strength and inner beauty despite their situations.