I think it's high time to clear up a rumor someone started: God hates beauty. Seriously? Who came up with this?! Somewhere in time, someone decided that dressing in baggy, ugly clothes is what God desires. Things like, I need to dress modestly, which means I can't wear attractive clothing! And, obviously I shouldn't do anything like put lotion on my face, brush my hair, or exercise, because God cares more about my inner appearance!
Lie number #1: God hates beauty.
Truth #1: Have you looked around lately? There's so much beauty surrounding us! From the trees and mountains, to the different facial features and hair colors all around you. The statement that God cares more about our inward heart, than outward appearance is true! But the keyword is, MORE. That doesn't mean He doesn't care about our outward appearance!
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Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry , or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4
This is the verse most often used as an example that God doesn't care about outward beauty. So explain to me why He often mentions that women in the Bible were "lovely to look at" "beautiful" "lovely"
Check out these verses:
"To bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at."
Esther 1:11 (Emphasis mine)
"The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not." 1 Kings 1:4 (Emphasis mine)
"Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance." Genesis 29:17 (Emphasis mine)
Why didn't He just say "Rachel was beautiful, but that didn't matter, obviously no one noticed this."?
I could keep going, but hopefully you get the point! I do want to make one thing clear, I'm not giving you permission to become obsessed with your appearance, or to get plastic surgery. My point is, God loves beauty!
Why should we hide the beauty He's given us? If you have pretty eyes, great! Don't hide them in shame! Do you have a nice shape? You don't have to completely hide it! Yes, dressing modestly is important-but does that mean you can't accentuate your small waist? If done properly and in the right additude, I don't see anything wrong with dressing attractively! Dressing to allure? No. That's a completely different type of dressing! But putting care into how you dress, making sure your hair is clean and neat, little things like that make a big difference. Like it or not, people do judge us on how we're dressed. If you're dressing sloppily, or in clothes that completely hide your shape, people assume you don't care about your body or how you're preceived. Wear sloppy clothes, you're preceived as a sloppy person! In the same way people assume certain things when you're dressed in immodest clothing.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
The main point I want you take away from this post? God loves beauty, care about your appearance, just don't obsess over it!
What do you think?
This is so true! Thank you for laying out that message, it means a lot. :)
ReplyDelete~Glam Girl
http://victoriasvictories11.blogspot.com/
Good post, Natasha. There is a fine balance that many people don't see when it comes to how Christian women should present themselves. There usually seem to be the two extremes: dressing covered from head to toe without showing your natural beauty hardly at all OR dressing to the hilt and showing too much of your body. GRRRR!!! Hopefully more and more young women (actually, women of all ages) will begin to see the beauty of dressing modestly AND beautifully.
ReplyDeleteCute outfit, by the way! Probably should mention that... ;-)
Blessings!
Rachel
Thank you Natasha for that great reminder! Love your outfit and the sandals are perfect with the jean skirt :-)
ReplyDeleteWise words.
ReplyDeleteIf the Creator didn't like beauty, the Universe would be just a bunch of lifeless rocks. Since beauty is everywhere, from the smile of a child to a star being born... of course that beauty is important in our existence.
Seeing a well dressed woman is very inspiring.
I love this post, Natasha! I absolutely agree!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like your outfit as well.(:
~Vicki
Decked Out in Ruffles
You've been tagged at my blog
ReplyDeletekeepcalmandsparkle1099.blogspot.com
It is curious how you put I Peter 3:3-4, which expressly states that we should not let our adornment be external, such as the wearing of gold jewelry, yet this is contradicted by one of the pictures, in which jewelry is worn. It seems to be a common misconception in this day and age that a Christian woman can dress like the other women of the world and still be Christian, yet we know from the Bible that we are set apart as His children, and by our fruits, actions AND appearance, others can see and know that we are followers of Christ.
ReplyDelete