What Kind of Beauty is Important?
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)
When I travel by air, I like to read what I call “no-brainer” magazines on takeoff. Since I can’t have my tray table down and work on my laptop, I look at something that doesn’t take too much concentration. I usually pick up a People magazine or a periodical with the latest fashion in it. I still like to see what’s in style, then search for a less expensive version of the same look.
A famous actress graced the cover of one of the magazines I bought. At first I thought it was another model on the cover, but after turning to the article about this actress, I realized this cover shot was supposed to be her.
But it didn’t look like her.
I decided to check out another photo of the actress on my phone and compared the two.
The jawlines were totally different.
The nose was not the same.
She looked more beautiful than ever on this cover, but I realized the actress had been airbrushed beyond recognition!
I had to laugh about this realization. At one time in my life, I would have unfavorably compared myself to the cover shot and desired to look that pretty, but now realize that what we see in magazines is not real. 99 percent of all photos in fashion magazines are airbrushed.
It’s all a façade and a great reminder.
Instead of focusing on our outside, we need to concentrate on our inside, because that’s what is really important— and what God cares most about. He desires for our hearts to be beautiful.
In 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel was sent to Jesse’s household to anoint one of Jesse’s son’s as the new king of Israel. When he saw Jesse’s older son, Eliab, he immediately thought Eliab would be the next king. Eliab was handsome and tall, and based on his outward appearance, was a perfect selection. Samuel was then told by the LORD, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:17). Instead, the youngest boy with a ruddy appearance, David, was chosen to be king. He was judged by his heart, not his looks.
God created our external appearance just the way He wanted us. Psalm 139:14 says God “knitted us together” in our mother’s womb, so if that’s the case, why aren’t we happy with the way we appear? Why don’t we worry less about the outward appearance and concentrate more on the heart, the part of our body that our heavenly Father cares the most about?
I want to have a beautiful heart, don’t you?
I pray Psalm 51:10 almost daily, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). I also pray that I will have a heart for God’s people and the things for which my heavenly Father has a heart.
Lord, I want to have a heart like yours!
So today, I challenge you to stop comparing yourself to the airbrushed images found in magazines, and start lining your heart up next to God’s heart, found incarnate through Jesus Christ. Strive for a heart like His.
Now that is beautiful.