Forever Beautiful

We live in a society that defines beauty for women as something that is only outward and physical. The media tries to set the standard of beauty by telling us what to wear and how to look, using magazines and television ads. They tell us that we can only be beautiful if we use certain products. If we want to be easy, breezy beautiful, then we have to wear Cover Girl cosmetics. They tell us that our bellies will look cuter if we wear hip-hugger jeans, which is not necessarily true for the majority of us women in the world. If we want to have a “total organic experience”, we need to shampoo our hair with Herbal essence. They have also set the standard by telling us what size we should be, when in reality not every one can be a size 5.

The sad thing is that most young women today are comparing themselves with society’s model of beauty. They are spending their money, time and energy trying to live up to that. I’ve seen girls who want their hair, makeup and clothes to be perfect so they spend a lot of money trying to get the “perfect” look.

I once met this Christian girl who had done some modeling a few times. She had a lot of outer beauty and I was sure that she had a great inner personality to go with it. After talking to her, I realized that I was far from right. She was a very self-centered person. She had become so concerned with her outer beauty that she ended up neglecting her inner beauty.

Christian women need to realize that trying to meet those standards is completely unattainable. Even the most perfect looking model will one day have to look in the mirror and realize that she doesn’t meet those standards anymore. When she is much older with gray hair and wrinkles what will she be left with? Outer beauty will never last and is not worth the struggle. But there is another kind of beauty that will last forever.

Let’s turn to the Bible to see what it has to say about true beauty. If you look at I Peter 3:3-4 (Living) it says, “Don’t be concerned about the outer beauty that depends on jewelry, or beautiful clothes, or hair arrangement. Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God.”

This verse is not saying that outward appearance is unimportant, but that inner qualities are more important. Inner qualities are what enhance the outer beauty. When we have a quiet and gentle spirit that means that we are free from anxiety and have put our full trust in God. God doesn’t care if you have perfect skin, long eyelashes, a flat tummy or any of those things. He is more concerned that you have a quiet and gentle spirit.

Now if you look in Proverbs 31:30, it says, “Charm can be deceptive and beauty doesn’t last, but a woman who fears and reverences God shall be greatly praised.”

That verse immediately tells us that beauty doesn’t last and then it gives us another quality of inner beauty, which is having the fear of the Lord. That doesn’t mean that you are trembling and are scared of God, but that you have an awesome respect for who He is and are willing to do whatever He wants.

Where does all of this inner beauty come from? I believe that it comes from knowing and having a relationship with God. It comes from letting Him shine out through us. It also comes from letting the Holy Spirit control our lives.

If you take a look in Galatians 5:22-23, it says, “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” When our external beauty fades away with old age, these are the inner qualities are what will last a lifetime.

I want to encourage you to begin now to cultivate inner beauty in your life. Start with your relationship with God, read your Bible and learn about who God is and what He expects from you as a woman. Forget about the world’s standards and start looking to God’s to define who you are. It might seem hard to do at first, but through prayer and trusting in God you can have an inner beauty that will last forever.