Women

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I recently saw what seems like the umpteenth remake of King Kong.

Its message hasn’t changed: beauty has power.

This can be verified by King David. “The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her.” (2 Samuel 11: 2-3, NIV)

The woman was Bathsheba, and David’s dalliances there led to some not-so-fine moments, and the repentance in Psalms 51.

Samson probably gazed upon Delilah as a thing of beauty—until the Philistines gouged his eyes out. (Judges 16:21)

Is beauty bad? Not if it doesn’t blind us, including the pursuit of our own outer beauty.

People swear on their hair gel and teeth whiteners that inner beauty is all that matters, but the Bible says the world looks at outward appearance. (1 Samuel 16:7) While inner beauty goes the distance, early impressions start with packaging.

Truthfully, if people weren’t concerned about appearance, beauty wouldn’t be a billion-dollar industry. Diet books wouldn’t be best sellers. The most comprehensive cosmetic surgery survey wouldn’t show that 11.9 million procedures were performed in the U.S. in 2004, totaling nearly 12.5 billion in beautifying bucks!1

Beauty is big business, and most of us have contributed to it.

I’m thankful for mousse and mascara, but some people are mirror addicts— vain peacocks in full-feather spread. Many beauty-obsessed people, though, are driven by insecurity. Despite the constant quest, they’re never comfortable with the mirror’s image. Insecurity holds them back, and they don’t give or grow like they could.

Though you can’t highlight your hair with it, there’s a remedy to this insecurity.

Putting God First.

I learned this from Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Read about her and you’ll see that God was her top priority.

With God, we can stop sucking in our bellies. Not one to scrutinize noses or tsk-tsk dark roots, God sees the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

When God comes first, we pry ourselves from the mirror and focus on pleasing Him. Now, I’m not saying we serve with matted mop hair. As the Lord’s representative, we should care about our appearance. Realizing the world looks at appearance, and that it’s part of human interaction, we don’t want gunky teeth and shoulder dandruff when saying, “Look what Jesus can do for you!”

We don’t have to razzle-dazzle, though. That isn’t beauty that inspires.

Of Jesus’ physical appearance, Isaiah 53:2 says, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (NIV)

We don’t know what Jesus really looked like, but He worked hard, outdoor labor—not the regime if you’re going for “polished prince”. Jesus probably had a more rugged appearance, indistinguishable from many young men of His day. Consider that John the Baptist only recognized Jesus as Savior because the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, lighted upon Jesus. (John 1:33)

Yet, despite ordinary looks, nobody has been the subject of more art, music or literature, influenced the course of history or inspired more good than Jesus. Crowds followed him, and some people went to extremes to be near Him. (Mark 2:1-5)

I’ve heard that a person becomes more attractive when they make others feel important—and has anyone recognized people’s value more than Jesus? “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17, NIV)

He IS the ultimate beauty—the kind truly worthy of pursuit as we serve for His glory and the good of others.

There is, however, a bonus.

Service enhances beauty. Look at Abraham Lincoln who considered himself so doggy that he said, “If I was two-faced, do you think I would be wearing this one?” Yet, research on beauty perceptions shows that Lincoln’s face is beloved because of the goodness and service it represents. 2

Do our faces represent Christ? If they don’t, the skill of a Hollywood make up artist won’t let us leave the world a prettier place.

If they do, beauty aids succeed—enhancing the outer and making us feel more confident as we express the inner.

Hollywood, bashed for focusing on outer beauty, actually got it right with King Kong.

Kong was going to scarf that beauty like a cheese stick—until she proved her beauty wasn’t skin-deep.

The power of INNER beauty made a difference.

In real life, the power of Christ’s beauty, radiated through us, makes a difference.

And that’s a story to remake—over and over again.


1 cosmeticplasticsurgerystatistics.com, ©2006 Plastic Surgery Research.info. Numbers based on the most comprehensive survey to date of U.S. physicians and surgeons by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
2 www.beautyworlds.com, 2004 Press Release, “Physical Beauty Involves More than Good Looks.”

©Donna G. Morton, January 2006

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