Define "BEAUTY"

When God created the earth  and everything in it, He left a common and significant mark in all His creations. This I believe is "beauty". As man was formed in His likeness, He left this mark in us too. That's why we are attracted to anything we find "beautiful", we are naturally drawn to it because our heart recognizes that this attribute represents the one who created us. 

As I was studying the book of Genesis, something in Genesis 3:6 caught my attention.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it." 

Eve was attracted to the fruit because it's pleasing to the eyes. In a simple definition, the fruit is beautiful. I couldn't take my mind off the idea that could it be, that when Eve ate that fruit and mankind fell into sin, our definition of of "beauty" have become far different from how God originally defined it? 

Here's what I learned as I pondered on it.. 

Beauty should not be skin deep

The bible says "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 

One of the biggest mistakes of Eve, is that she saw only the exterior of the fruit. It might be red, shiny, and attractive. But inside it, its rotten and poisonous. This is why the bible reminds us, real beauty can be seen on the inside. Your beauty may be pageant worthy, but if you're just attractive on the outside, that beauty will eventually fade. To the Lord, beauty is seen through kindness, respect, love, faithfulness, gentleness and quietness of the Spirit. These things which makes the person's heart so beautiful never fades in time, and it is of great worth in God's sight. 

Beauty is not defined by the world but by God

When man fell into sin, one of the effects to us is distortion in everything that God created. In our world today, especially with the rise of social media platforms, we have given the "world" authority to dictate to us what is beautiful and what is not. The world standards has become our standard. We are dictated what hair we should have, dresses we should buy, personality we should be like, even the kind of body we should have to be called "beautiful". And when we couldn't keep up with the trend, it frustrates and stirs up insecurity within us. True enough, our definition of beauty have downgraded from that of God's definition to the world's. I'm not saying that being fashionable is wrong or bad. I myself am a fan of fashion and I would even encourage women to always look their best. But what I'm saying here is our beauty should not depend on these things alone. We should be confident on how God created and our identity in Him. 

You are beautiful because God created you

I guess physical insecurities are most common to women because we are bearer of God’s beauty. However, the world corrupted beauty’s true worth and threw a lot of “worldly standards” which is difficult for us to keep up. We all could relate to this. I could relate to this. In fact, few years back, I was so deep into it that I don't even want to look at myself in the mirror or in pictures. Until the Lord convicted me that when I say insulting words to myself even with just in my mind, words like, "you're not pretty, you're hair is so dry, you're fat, your skin is not hydrated, etc," I'm not really insulting myself, but insulting the Lord because it is He who created me. He spoke to my heart one day "You should understand this Tin because you are a designer too. None of the things you design are ugly in your eyes. All are beautiful." And this is true, when I design things I feel bad when people don't appreciate what I created. And all the while I never realized that by insulting myself with how I look, I am actually insulting the God Almighty who created me. That day I had to choose, which is more important, How the world sees me? or How the Lord sees me? I chose the latter. 

God always looks at the heart

"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

There's a reason why when God changes us to become more like Him, He changes our hearts, not our appearance. Never in the bible was it mentioned that God changed a person's appearance to qualify in His ministry nor was it stated that outward beauty is a requirement to enter heaven. When God sanctifies, its always the heart that needs to change to come close to His presence. Not the face nor body. This is because we are already all uniquely beautiful in His eyes. But our hearts are not, that's why in Psalm 26:2, the psalmist says "Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind". I guess what I'm saying here is, outward beauty has no eternal value. But the beauty of the heart has.  

I do pray that as you read this post, it will help you understand how God really defines beauty. And may this encourage you to invest more in in cultivating the inner beauty which has an eternal value and is of great worth in God's eyes. 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, 

Thank you for allowing me to understand what beauty really is. I pray that from this day on, I will not look at my outward appearance nor the outward appearance of others but will appreciate people with who they are on the inside. Lord Jesus, help me to be a person with a beautiful heart. Help me to overcome my insecurities and remind me everyday that I am beautiful because you are a God who is beautiful and I am created in Your likeness. Anchor my heart day and night with your truth, that I am not defined by the world but by You, alone. Thank you for dying for me and for the gift of eternal life. 

In Your name I pray, Amen.