“Beautiful!”
That’s one of the English words I learned as a child. It was one of the challenging words for me to spell back then too! 😉
Kidding aside, this word is one of the most encouraging words anyone could hear. Consequently, becoming beautiful is what most of us strive to be–we want to be beautiful in and out.
Women, especially, even invest in becoming physically attractive.
According to a survey done by Worldwatch Institute, $8 billion are spent on cosmetics ALONE each year by American women. Please note that cosmetics ranked second in American’s top commodities. I am sure that it’s the same way in Asia or in other parts of the world.
One report even stated:
“If you look at the entire worldwide cosmetic industry, sales reach about $170 Billion dollars a year. It’s distributed pretty uniformly around the world with ~$40 billion in the Americas, ~$60 billion in Europe, ~$60 billion in Australia & Asia, and another $10 billion in Africa. The Western world spends a bit more per person but India and Asia are quickly catching up.” -Worldwide Cosmetic Market
Please refrain from thinking that I am against make-up. No! I also love buying a few cosmetics. Nothing wrong with that. 🙂
By now, I am quite confident that you can agree that ladies place a high value on how they look before others. I am sure that you, just like me, are also one of those women who endeavor to keep yourself physically clean and beautiful. That’s wonderful!
It’s also part of being a good testimony to those unbelievers of Christ. Besides, even one preacher once said to this effect, “If the barns need painting, paint it!”
“If the barns need painting, paint it.”
The question though is “What really does make a woman beautiful?” Is it just the cosmetics and variety of beauty regime that beautify a woman? Is it surgery? How about shoes, accessories, and apparels? To some degrees, the ones I just mentioned, indeed, can affect how one looks. I don’t want to sound too dogmatic.
One popular celebrity, Audrey Hepburn, ascertained beauty this way though,
“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman’s reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”
She also worded one indispensable beauty tip,
“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”
This is quite an inspiring encouragement, isn’t it? How much more pertinent it is if we can learn about the kind of beauty that pleases God, the Master of Beauty. What does He think about beauty? I am persuaded that God, as our Creator, knows how to teach His creatures to REALLY be beautiful, not only before men but most importantly, before His eyes.
1. A surrendered and submissive woman is beautiful.
Paul wrote,
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
This is an encouragement for all women, whether single or married. It is God’s desire that we surrender our whole being to Him.
Being submissive and surrendered to Him doesn’t always mean leaving one’s career and being in a full-time ministry. It just means being sold-out for God!
In addition to that, surrender and submission entail dependence on God as we try to make a difference in this world.
It means trusting His word in every decision we make.
It means displaying our recognition of His thoughts to be better than ours even if taking a stand for Christ leads to our persecution.
Needless to say, it also means doing the tasks He has called us to do in our field with a cheerful spirit. (I need to work on this myself!)
Only then can we be beautiful in His sight.
2. A woman who speaks kindly is beautiful.
She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26 (NASB)
It is one thing to speak kindly to lovable people and another thing to speak words of kindness to people who don’t deserve our benevolent treatment.
King Solomon describes that a virtuous woman who is also beautiful in God’s eyes utters words of kindness.
It’s challenging I know, but God’s grace is enough to enable us to choose words kindness over nasty ones when we face difficult people.
“Did you mean that I have to speak words of kindness to people who criticize me day in and out?” Yes, we must if we want to please our God. Again I say boldly, “Yes, we must do so.”
One key to keeping our speech sweet is by saturating our mind with teachings of God’s word.
As it has been said, “Garbage in, garbage out.”
What would come out of our mouth is rooted from the things we allow to run through our minds.
3. A woman devoted to God’s Word is beautiful.
What is our priority in our life? What priority in life would make us beautiful and commendable in God’s sight?
Jesus Himself commended Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, for not keeping herself busy with the work of the Lord but with the Lord of the work. Mary thought that there is only “one needful thing” in this world –to spend time at the feet of Jesus Christ.
Being a woman, I guess, entails the curse of being crazy over details (or maybe that’s just me). When we think of projects, we think of details. When we think of wedding plans, we think of details. Many women are perfectionists and detail-oriented because that’s how our brain works.
Admittedly or not, we tend to focus on work too much when we are tasked to do something. Consequently, though, we SOMETIMES forget that “one needful thing” God expects from us–a quality time of conversation with Him which includes Bible reading, meditation, and prayer.
Perhaps you say, “I’m busy. I can’t afford to do that. I need to cook breakfast early in the morning, prepare my kids’ lunch and clean up our home. I also have to do an eight-hour job. I have no more time.”
You are not the only one who struggles with this. I do and everyone else! BUT God wants us to lovingly spend time with Him every day consistently.
Only then can we reflect the beauty of God that stems from a heart that is right with Him. I assure you that when we start our day right with God then He will give us a joyful countenance. It is a joyful countenance that comes from knowing that He will help us as we fulfill our tasks daily and face our trials with an assurance of His help. He will give us songs even when our heart is heavy.
I remember one little notepad posted on my friend’s office desk which says something to this effect,
“God stretches our time when we give him the first part of our day.”
I have proven this myself and I am sure you did too. Let’s pray for God to help us do this consistently until He comes.
4. A modest woman is beautiful.
Yes, remaining modest is one of the struggles women have in this generation. Why? I’m sad to say that Satan tempts women to compete in showing as much as skin as they can.
Unless we are surrendered to the authority of God’s word, we will always fall into the pit that Satan has put before us to make insipid (i.e. immodest) fashion style.
Remember this important verse:
“I also want the women to 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)
The verse is clear enough. God desires that the beauty we portray in public radiates, not because of our dresses and accessories but rather, because of the good works resulting from our worship of Him.
Now, I may have written much more than usual but I believe that we need to hear these reminders from the Bible.
Every day is a challenge to reflect the beauty of God and we can only do that by His grace. It’s one thing to be beautiful in people’s eyes and it’s fully another thing to be beautiful in God’s sight.
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My Fellow Bible Land Explorers (posing on Mt. Nebo, the mountain from which Moses viewed the promised land.)
Leaning on Jesus 