More than 'Hot'

     Okay, now just as a pre-warning for you boys, this may not apply to you very much.  You're still welcome to read, and maybe this is what you need to hear right now.  I just know that if I told all of this to my brothers, they would probably laugh in my face.  

     To begin with, a great Bible verse: "³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ 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. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves."  That was 1 Peter 3:3-5a.  This verse is great when you realize that you don't have the latest brand names or don't have prettily braided or fashioned hair.  For me, at least, my form of 'pretty hair' is a ponytail and, if the day is good, a bow.  I chopped all of my hair off this summer, so it's too short to do anything else.  

     After I decided that I wanted to talk about beauty, I googled it.  Isn't that the reasonable thing to do in every situation?  But anyway, guess what the first result is!  The very first thing I see when I ask about beauty is "beauty.com-BareMinerals, Origins, Urban Decay, NARS, and more..."  Am I the only one that sees that as very warped?  Scroll down a bit, and you'll see more and more and more advertisements, cosmetic and hair tips, and other 'beautifying' helpers.  

     That is the first picture that I found on Google describing 'beauty.'  She's being attacked by five makeup brushes, and wearing a dress that looks like it was made out of saran wrap!  That image is what our culture considers 'beautiful!'  The saddest thing: I went to link of the picture, and it was a 'natural beauty' website.  

     If you go to dictionary.com (another useful tool in homework/writing), beauty is defined as "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind,whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest)."  Just let that sink in, and actually think about it.  Intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind?  Beauty is used to describe someone truly gorgeous, or a car that some teenage boy is obsessed with, or even a view.  The word beauty is so overused.  Now does it strike anyone as odd that it is so rare that people themselves are called it?  
     Finally, Romans 12:2.  "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."  We shouldn't be obsessed with buying the newest jeans or losing weight... even though there's nothing wrong with them in and of themselves.  Being healthy and looking our best should be important to us, just not too important.  I know that I can get caught up with trying to look 'cool,' and I know that it's all too easy for each one of us.  So, we shouldn't worry about our nation or culture's definition of beauty, but God's: to show our gentle love for others and live as an example of God's love.