You remember her.
You’ve seen her somewhere—at
school, at church, at a camp, in the grocery store.
She was probably wearing very
tight clothes and tiny shorts. Her face was coated in makeup and her hair was
perfectly done. You watched as she passed a darkened window and checked how she
looked. You saw the look on her face when the cute guy came around. And you saw
the look on her face when she met eyes with you.
Disgust.
The other day I was reading in
Isaiah. I was startled by chapter 3, which I had remembered previously, but had
not stood out to me so much.
Did you know that God is very
concerned with how women view themselves? Did you know that He wants women to
be beautiful?
But be careful. Scripture is very
clear about what TRUE beauty before the Lord is.
1. God recognizes that women desire to be beautiful because He GAVE them that desire.
2. He is aware of women with proud and vain hearts.
3. He hates the arrogance of an outwardly beautiful girl who cares nothing about submitting to the One who gave her beauty.
I know it's long, but take a minute to read this passage:
“Moreover, the Lord said, ‘Because the daughters of Zion are
proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with
mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet, Therefore the Lord will
afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, And the Lord will make
their foreheads bare." In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of
their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets,
veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, finger rings,
nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments,
turbans and veils. Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there
will be putrefaction; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, a
plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; And
branding instead of beauty. Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty
ones in battle. And her gates will lament and mourn, And deserted she will sit
on the ground.’”
Isaiah 3:16-26
Wow. Can you see how vile
these women are before the Lord?
God is CLEAR. He despises
that haughty girl who is plastered with makeup and carries herself like a
queen. He hates the arrogance of an outwardly beautiful girl who cares nothing
about submitting to the One who gave her beauty.
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance
or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things
people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at
the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
God makes it clear. He does not care about what you look like
on the outside. At the end of this life, when you are standing before the
judgement seat and He asks you why you should enter His heaven, how would this
response work? “Well… I’m super hot. I know at least eighteen guys like me just
in my teenage years—and those are just the ones I know! But really, have you
seen eyelashes as long as mine?”
God does not care. In fact, He hates that.
Our takeaway from these verses, God hates the outward beauty
of an ungodly woman and He WILL humiliate her.
“Charm is deceptive,
and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30
Now we see that arrogant, outward beauty is despised by God, but now we see that it is fleeting. It will not last. If the man you marry marries you for your looks, as you grow older and have children, your beauty will fade and he will look for someone else.
Our takeaway? Outward
beauty—even the outward beauty of a godly woman—will not last.
There is an alternative, however. A woman who fears the Lord
will be praised. Let’s explore this some more.
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as
elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry 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.”
1 Peter 3:3-4
Ladies, this is it. God wants you to be beautiful. He wants
you to be stunningly beautiful. And
guess what? You can be drop dead gorgeous WITHOUT having perfect makeup, hair,
or figure. A woman who fears the Lord will possess a gentle and quiet
spirit—which is far more beautiful
than anything this world can offer.
It’s a win-win situation. You’re more beautiful in the world’s
eyes AND you will be beautiful in God’s eyes.
Inner beauty comes from a tranquil and peaceful spirit. A
spirit that is resting in God alone for all her needs. She is so rooted in
Christ, her beauty spills outward in a joyful expression of His grace.
Our takeaway is this, true
beauty comes from a fear of the Lord and a gentle and quiet spirit which is
beautiful before God and man.
Ladies, this is SO important. Our culture is so vain. All of our hearts are vain. But if
you ask the Lord, He will humble your heart before Him.
How do you fight the culture's overwhelming view of beauty? How do you pursue Christ? Any thoughts or stories? Share in the comments!
7
