Be Beautiful

I recently received this advertising mailer, from a clothing store in the mall, and was immediately struck by the statement on the cover.  It simply reads, "Be Beautiful".  I have nothing against beauty, but it was the inferred message that bothered me.

Behind the words is a model decked out in the company's clothes.  The message seems to be that by wearing their clothes you will be beautiful.  The world promotes beauty as being all about the outward adornment and fitting into some prescribed mold.  Though it deceives many, there is a fatal flaw with this line of thinking.  This ideal of beauty is not real.  Even if one could somehow obtain it, they couldn't sustain it!  Such a one would have to continually chase the latest trends (and at 40 the latest anti-aging products), obsess about their weight, and still remain unfulfilled, self-centered and exhausted!  Solomon was right when he said, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting". (Proverbs 31:30)  At least the world's idea of beauty is.

There is another form of beauty that lasts.  True beauty comes not from the outside, but from our inner character.  1 Peter 3:3-4 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."  This does not mean we leave no regard for our appearance, but rather we keep it in perspective and our confidence comes from who we are in Christ instead of our looks.

If you have ever been around a woman whose spirit is at rest, who knows her true identity, then you know what I am talking about.  For not only is this woman at rest, but she puts you at rest too.  There is no need to prove anything with her.  You feel comfortable.  You can be yourself.  Outward beauty alone can make people shy away, but inward beauty invites them in.  What kind of beautiful are you?