When you think about beauty, what comes to mind? Is it what you were taught from a mom, grandma or older sister? If you’re a guy, did your dad make jokes about your appearance? Is your definition of beauty from social media? Do you have a self defined version that’s very personal and different from others? …is your identity in your physical appearance or in what God says beauty is?
It’s Wednesday. I’ve had some rare time to myself today between taking care of a new baby, my home, cooking, writing, working and attempting to get “self care” time. Self care for me looks so different than it used to. With a new baby, self care has been heavy on the mental/physical care and less heavy on taking care of my physical appearance. I’m not complaining. This is just the rebalancing act of holding the plates of my family, myself and everything else. I sat on instagram for twenty minutes and stumbled on a mom of three who just snapped back into shape after twins…twins! I started down a mental rabbit hole that so many of us do with instagram as the culprit…I have to start working out harder, why couldn’t I snap back that quick? That must be nice. She must have physical trainers or something. Why didn’t that happen for me? A stream of negative, berating thoughts flew in. What a waste of my time!
I stopped and thought..what am I doing? I closed instagram and shifted my thoughts to truth. I’m working my butt off and have lost almost all of the baby weight. I’m eating healthy and being diligent. I’m doing the best I can and I'm doing a great job!
Do you find yourself slipping into negative self talk and accidentally comparing yourself to an edited, staged image that was most likely chosen from 20 photos they took to get one good one they deemed insta-worthy? Maybe your thoughts go towards something someone said to you when you were little that shaped the way you saw yourself. Maybe you’re still believing the lies that someone tried to put on you that have been seared into your brain. Maybe you were bullied for your appearance. Whatever it may have been for you, it’s so important to know that anything or anyone that contradicts your identity of who and what God says your beauty is, is a straight up lie. Because man, the ups and downs and seasons of life can make or break your day if you’re anchored in whether or not you approve of what you see in the mirror that day. Jesus’ version - our creator's version of beauty, is so much more freeing. It isn’t distracted with being so focused on what we look like but rather on what we have to give.
I want to break this up into a few sections with scripture: What God says beauty is and how it is embodied in us, and how it looks in a modern world today. Come with me…
What God says beauty is and looks like in us:
You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. Song of Solomon 4:7
This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God. 1 Peter 3:5

It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. 1 Peter 3:3
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16
Women should dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. 1 Timothy 2: 9-10
How we can live out the beauty God says we have in a modern way today:
Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Luke 12:22-23
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16
All of these express a bigger importance of who you are inside, focusing on the outward appearance as more of an add on, saying we “shouldn’t worry about it” in Luke. I want to make sure I'm not painting a picture that you can’t wear cute clothes and look presentable. That’s not what it’s saying. It’s about the position of your heart. What do you hold close? Is it the things of this world?..Material things of all kinds? God says where your treasure is, your heart will be also (Luke 12:34). He wants to be the treasure that we value most! This world holds “stuff” in such high regard and if it comes before Jesus in our hearts, He says we’ve made it an idol - “You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.” Leviticus 19:4
Think about your most prized possessions. Would you be ok without them? Genuinely, could you let them go and downgrade, knowing that what matters most is that you have God to hold onto in life? My most prized possession is my Wedding ring. If something were to happen to it, I would be fine - very sad of course - but my commitment to my husband is in my heart. It’s the position of the heart, not the piece of metal on my hand that makes me a wife.
Lastly, I want to cover what the bible says about clothing, because women have always been rocking a cute outfit and I love me a cute outfit! Proverbs 31 is my fave for this. These women were making themselves clothes and making their home beautiful to reflect their own style since way back when to make it personal to them.
She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. Proverbs 31:22
All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king. Psalm 45:13-14
Since Bible times, women have been looking fly! Presenting themselves with confidence in their own style and taking care of themselves. That doesn’t mean they overdid it and had an excess amount of clothes and shoes. They took care of what they had and paired that with the confidence of who and whose they were. Clothes are an add on to your inner beauty but they aren’t our identity - I love that the proverbs 31 woman models that so beautifully.
I hope this reminded you of your true beauty and identity today. Let’s be content with what we have and let our inner beauty be brighter!
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