We are constantly met with images that send the message: This is what you must look like to be beautiful, because this is what true beauty looks like.
Yet we are also given the hollow phrase, "It's what's inside that counts", usually by the very stars and celebrities who are being admired and put on display for their physical attractiveness. I happen to believe very much that "it's what's inside that counts", but not because some supermodel drops the phrase in a moment of scripted pseudo-humility.
This may be the message that is spoken, but it soon becomes meaningless, because the true message that is sent is: This is what you must look like to be beautiful, because this is what true beauty looks like... Oh, and it doesn't hurt to be a nice person... But back to what's really important.
Is physical attractiveness really the most important thing? Is beauty solely external, defined by the times and by one's allure to the opposite sex? What does the Bible have to say about beauty?
The Bible identifies two kind of beauty - external beauty, and inner beauty.
I. External beauty
First of all, the Bible cites many examples of beautiful women. Sarah was a "woman of beautiful appearance" (Genesis 12:11). Rebekah was a "very beautiful" girl (Genesis 24:16). Rachel was "beautiful of form and face" (Genesis 29:17). And we know that Esther was chosen in a kingdom-wide beauty pageant as the most beautiful bride for the king of the land!
The Bible has no problem with external beauty. This might seem obvious, or overly-simplistic, but I want to make sure the message is not misunderstood. In portraying the excess of our culture in regard to external beauty, I don't want in any way to condemn it! Rather, I want to show how a good thing has become twisted and emphasized to a harmful degree and diverted from its original goodness.
But, external beauty fades.
This is the fatal flaw in the way our culture bases personal worth on external, physical beauty. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last" (Proverbs 31:30). No matter what 'age-defying' products are used, our bodies are still subject to time, weather, sickness, and injury. External beauty is a fragile and fleeting physical state; some possess it to a greater degree than others, some have the resources to prolong it more than others, but no one can meet our culture's demands of being beautiful forever. "There is an appointed time for everything" (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and there is a time for the bloom of external beauty to fade!
External beauty is meaningless unless accompanied by inner beauty.
"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion" (Proverbs 11:22). I think one of the most humorous examples of this verse is the character of Lina Lamont in Singing in the Rain.
Lina is a beautiful, glamorous silent-movie star, who appears to have everything a girl could wish for... that is, until she opens her mouth. It turns out that first of all she has a terrible and annoying voice, and second an ugly and ignorant personality. A beautiful woman without discretion, and I can picture Gene Kelly's character comparing her to a gold ring in a pig's snout :)
Another good word picture is one that Jesus used in Matthew 23:27, where he compared the Pharisees to "whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean". Having a nice exterior doesn't mean very much when the inside is dirty and spiritually dead. Pretty soon those dead bones start to smell... even though the outside looks pretty!
External beauty carries no weight with God.
You remember the story of when David was chosen to be king of Israel? The prophet Samuel went to Jesse's house, because God told him to anoint one of Jesse's sons to be the next king. The oldest son, Eliab, passed by first, and based on his appearance, Samuel thought for sure that he was the chosen one. But the Lord told Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
Humans (although we are warned against it) DO judge books by their covers, and people by their appearance. But God doesn't. His judgment is not affected by the way you look. He doesn't love you more when you look good, and less when you don't. He doesn't appreciate you more when you're attractive, and less when you're not. He doesn't focus on you when you're fixed up, and ignore you when you're not. God loves you neither more nor less based on your external appearance!
What He does care about, He tells Samuel, is a person's heart. This brings us to...
II. Inner beauty = Genuine Beauty
1 Peter 3:3 - 4 "Let not your adornment be merely external - braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."
This verse is the treasure chest of genuine beauty!
The genuine beauty these verses describe is far more than "merely external": It is inner beauty, the beauty of the hidden person of the heart.
The word for "heart" used in these verses is the seat of one's thoughts, reasonings, understanding, will, designs, affections, and emotions. Basically, everything that makes you the person you are inside. Not the image you project, or the body you live in, but the you that lives in the body. This is where genuine beauty is found.
Genuine beauty is far more than physical beauty: It is the gentle, tranquil, spiritual beauty of a heart that is right with God.
So what's with this "gentleness" and "quietness"? Lest you fear that inner beauty is something you can only easily possess in a library ("inside voices", anyone?), let's look at the meaning of those words:
My keyword study Bible says that the gentleness spoken of here "is a condition of mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness not in weakness, but in power. It is a virtue born of strength of character". Similarly, a quiet spirit does not mean literal silence, but inner peace, undisturbed, tranquil - the associated picture is that of "keeping one's seat".
Genuine beauty is beauty of the heart and spirit, the beauty of a peaceful ocean, the beauty of power that is under control... picture to yourself the seas after Jesus told them to be still (Matthew 8:23 - 26).
Genuine beauty is imperishable.
Unlike external beauty, and our physical bodies, inner beauty will not deteriorate over time - it is exempt from the wear, waste and final perishing which characterizes the body. An investment in your external appearance may bring present rewards, compliments, etc., but we never get anything but older... It's like buying a new car, that loses value the minute you drive it off the lot. Our time ticks away and we can never be the same as we were yesterday.
But an investment in inner beauty is like planting a tree; it will only grow and flourish as time passes. Unlike a tree, however, which has a lifespan as a physical object, inner beauty is unaffected by time.
Genuine beauty is PRIZED by God.
It is precious in His sight. Remember, God looks at the heart, and heart that is a still sea under the authority of Jesus Christ is treasured by Him. It is beyond value, something that is impossible to set a price on! Inner beauty is where true worth and value comes from, because it is priceless to God!
Finally, inner beauty is an adornment.
It magnifies and amplifies external beauty. It brightens any face, livens any voice, adds sparkle to any eye, and an aura to any personality. Proverbs 15:13, "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face". Your outer appearance is the very first thing that strangers see, but your inner beauty is what people will remember. A pretty face is soon forgotten, but a beautiful heart has a timeless impact.
Not only that, but God made our hearts to perceive beauty more clearly than our eyes, and to see beauty where our eyes may not. Although our world has perverted our perception of beauty, God's design for genuine beauty involves the heart. And when there is true inner beauty, our heart seems to override the simply physical perception of our eyes; so that we literally "see" someone as beautiful, who may possess little external beauty.
I want to share a beautiful Russian folktale with you. It is told in the children's book, My Mother Is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, by Becky Reyher.
A little peasant girl gets separated from her mother, and the village people are trying to help her. They ask her, "Who is your mother? What does she look like?". And the little girl replies, "My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world".
So they parade all the beautiful woman from the village before the little girl, asking her each time, "Is this your mother?", and each time she answers, "No. I told you, my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world".
Finally, a woman comes rushing up anxiously, sees the little girl, and catches her up in a hug. She does not fit the standard definition of beauty - her face is big and broad, her body even larger, her eyes are small, and her nose is big, and her mouth is almost toothless. But the little girl is full of smiles, and declares, "This is my mother! I told you my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world!"
Is there an application to modesty in all this?
Yes! Remember the focus of genuine beauty - it is inner, not outer, as such it is NOT defined by the times or our culture. Modesty dresses to enhance genuine beauty; immodesty causes genuine beauty to all but disappear, as the external and the physical steals the show.
Next post on "Beautiful Women of the Bible".
In Christ alone... Brynne
2 comments:
Brynne~Thank you SO much! I am so blessed by your writing.
In Christ, Shannon
Brynne!!! Thats great really enjoy reading your posts!!!
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