I've been thinking alot about false beauty in our culture.
Thanks to a dear friend for bringing this to my attention!
(Guys take note: this is a post mostly directed towards ladies. You can read and comment if you want, but I'm writing it from a female's perspective to other females :)
(I also can't believe I'm posting this picture! haha... x.x)
ANYWAY!
Beauty. Female.
These two words almost always go hand in hand.
We as women want to look nice. Attractive. Beautiful.
But the question I want to pose tonight is:
Is that really what matters?
We do our hair. We makeup our faces. We dress as cute (and hopefully as modestly - completely different post :D) as possible.
Sadly, in our culture today, that's the extent of all to many a female's worries.
Well, that and "climbing the social and/or business ladder".
I want to point all females to Proverbs 31:30~
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
And I Timothy 2:9-10~
9 likewise also, that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. (italics mine)
I've been convicted of being too concerned with my looks personally. I've taken way too much time to get ready to some place. "What will people think of me?" or "How do I look?" have crossed my mind more times than necessary, I'm sad to say.
Now, I want to clarify one thing... just in case anyone out there is thinking what I think you may be thinking. :) I'm not against trying to look nice or lovely. I just don't believe it's right to focus too much on it.
God has been working in my life to concentrate more on glorifying Him... making a conscious decision to do so. He has been teaching me to live my life "with good works", striving to live for Him and being loving to family. (Saying none of this pridefully, but thankfully!)
I've been so changed in this area that I don't even mind sharing this below picture with you (too much ;) I posted this scripture on it because I want to tie it to my daily ritual of getting ready for the day.
1st picture, before makeup: 2nd picture, after makeup
Shocking, eh? haha
I pray that the Lord will continue this new work he's begun in me! (Philippians 1:6)
God is good in that he is faithful to complete it!
What are your thoughts on this issue?
Did I make sense? :)
Hope to hear from you.
Blessings~
10 comments:
I agree with you! Yes you made sense. I do not think you are saying that makeup is bad but what the underlying intention or motive is. I think everyone should strive to look their best first in order to Glorify God and in honor and respect for other people, some women cannot pull of your before pic and look as good as you do in it, I am not flattering I am pointing out a fact. but today the world puts out what the level of expectancy is out there and we eat it up! I love the saying " beauty is only skin deep." I could go on forever because I have been in discussions about dress and such but I will refrain and sayI agree with you and thanks for your post and encouragement.
Hey, Emily -
You DID make sense...and I do agree with you. Sometimes on my way out the door, I swing between two thoughts: "Do I look okay/pretty?" and "AAH! Who CARES what anyone else thinks!", and in between those two is: "Would God be glorified by how I'm dressed/look/act", and that's the one to keep in mind. :)
... that said, I'm really NOT shocked by the pictures, because way back before we were old enough for makeup, I knew you were beautiful then. <3
Good post, dear, and a reminder for us all. :)
Love you,
~ Jean Marie
Hello Emily, I agree also on what you have said. Your pictures prove a good point but maybe not what you were thinking. When I see those pictures I see a beautiful smile and a radiating glow of joy that comes from your heart. Maybe that is because I know you and what you are like but it does show in your countenance. That is what we should strive for: having a countenance that shows the love of Christ and pleases Him. To God be the glory.
Love to all your family,
Mrs.Sudlow
There's a lot to think about in your post, Emily! First off, I think both pictures are cute, and the only difference I notice is the appearance of a few less freckles and longer lashes (and the "after" picture itself is clearer, so that makes it look better too). You don't look bad AT ALL.
I think that if it were ME in some before and after pictures, I'd be noticing a lot more. I think we all have an image of what we would like ourselves to look like, and when it's not perfect, we tend to worry and wonder what other people are going to think of us.
For instance, if I have a just little make up on, and I ask a family member how I look, they'll say, "Fine!" or "Nice!". If I ask the same question with more makeup on, they'll usually answer the same way. *I* may notice a difference, but they don't really. I've come to the realization that people aren't going to be staring at my face and scrutinizing my makeup (it took a while for me to get there... lol).
Now obviously, I put more or less makeup on at different times. I think that we should always look "nice" (as an aid to our Christian testimony), but when we worry about looking "good enough", we aren't acknowledging what true beauty is (preaching to myself ;).
The thing that makes a person truly beautiful to look at, though, it their countenance. A girl may be the most "beautiful" in the world, but if the love of Christ is not shining on her face, there really isn't much beauty there. Smiling is the best way to look attractive. It shows the joy of the Lord, and lights up your face.
Sorry the comment turned into a short sermon... haha... I know you know most of this, but I just thought I'd write it anyway. :)
You're a beautiful friend, inside and out- with makeup, or without!
Love you,
Lauren
TOTALLY makes sense. America needs more REAL CHIRISTIAN girls who put GOD first!!!!!!!! amen.
Good reminder Emily! My husband is very good about keeping me focused on what I look like on the inside more than on the outside while still making me feel beautiful no matter what I think I look like :-) It is amazing to me the number of women who I think are so beautiful but it is a beauty that flows from the inside. When we work to give God room to make us beautiful, He does!
Hannah~~~
I am tardy I know
but I have a thought I want to show
The questions you pose
are valid and worth the contemplation
and it is what we should ask
for the sake of our nation...
ok..enough poetry...
...because how women think of themselves
and see themselves and present themselves to their world
will determine the stock of women that come after them.
One small seed of a modest flowing skirt, or a few strands of wayward gray hair coupled with age appropriate wrinkles might also be used to thwart those images
with which our culture barages
on women of all ages.
I am cheerfully walking right alongside you sweet sister.
As for you Miss Emgirl,
you know that I think you are
among the loveliest of all creatures
heart and soul
that is all I see.
{{* *}}
barrages...
that would be barrages.
hate spelling error.
{{**}}
Thanks for sharing, Emily! I think you are absolutely right that the intentions of the heart have a lot to do with it.. sometime I struggle with concerning make up is how EXPENSIVE the good kinds are (ie: without tons of chemicals) and I always feel like my money could be better spent (so I don't wear it often) but anyway--just another thought :) I feel like the money could feed a child or something, but this is true of any type of entertainment... Love you!
Very good post Emily. You have good insight and I admire your honesty. More importantly, I believe God will honor your efforts to keep the vain where it belongs, not in the life of a Christian. Remember that "...what is seen is temporary..."(2 Cor. 4:18). Yes, we are (and hopefully good ones) God's representatives on His earth, and should dress well. We ain't hippies is what I mean. But the focus of the outward appearance is so minute in camparison with the eternal things to come. I'm a guy, so I don't know, but all you girls need to know is that you are loved by your Father in heaven. Don't let the worldly infatuation with the human body skew your priorities. No, it's not sinful or even inappropriate to look physically attractive. At the core, it is good. But that core is so very sadly covered in layers of lust and idolatry that I think it best to error on the side of "not enough." Trust that God has someone for you that will think you're drop-dead gorgeous even with nothing on at all (make-up I mean).
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