CE 1 YEAR: 17 Your Beauty  

Week 17

Your Beauty

The problem with physical beauty

The World has taught us that physical beauty makes you more valuable. But your Dad tells you not to copy the behavior and customs of this world (Rom 12:2). Through media and movie stars the Devil-dominated World has taught us that an attractive physical appearance makes someone more important and loved. In India, women with lighter skin are considered more beautiful than women with darker skin. In America, women with darker skin are considered more beautiful than those with lighter skin. That’s why many American women spend hours tanning themselves. Do you see how foolish all of this is?

Your Dad wants you to reject all of this nonsense. Why? Because if you are a woman who believes like the World, then you will never feel pretty enough. If you are a man who lets the World define what makes you valuable, then your body will never be big or muscular enough. There will always be someone prettier or bigger than you. And because you evaluate yourself the same way the World does, you will always feel jealous and ugly. Or invest a great deal of time, attention, and money on your physical appearance just like the World does.

Of course, some things and some people are more physically attractive than others. Most people would say a lilac bush in full bloom is prettier than a cactus. A cocker spaniel puppy is cuter than a snake. And some people are more physically attractive than others. Even God’s word notes that Abigail was an intelligent and beautiful woman (1 Sam 25:3). Esther had a lovely figure and was beautiful (Esther 2:7). David was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes (1 Sam 16:12).

But the Bible describes Jesus like this: There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him (Isa 55:2). Jesus was not a very nice-looking man. If you saw Him, you might even think He was ugly. Those paintings and pictures you see of him that make Him look handsome are a lie. Likewise, people said of the Apostle Paul that in person he was not impressive (2 Cor 10:10).

The reality is that through the force of random nature, some people have more physical beauty than others. What is not reality is that this makes pretty people more valuable, happy, and attractive than others.

First, if your value depended on your physical appearance, then God would have made everyone equally physically attractive. He would never want physical appearance to dictate someone’s value. But the reason He lets genetics determine your physical appearance is because the shape of your nose, the color of your hair, and the height of your body have no real effect on how valuable, happy, or attractive you are. Neither Jesus or Paul were physically attractive. Did that make any important difference in their lives? No!

Secondly, having an attractive appearance is certainly not a guarantee of happiness either. Beautiful people are some of the most miserable people. And some very plain looking folk are the happiest people you will ever meet. In fact, because beautiful people are especially tempted to get their self-worth from being physically attractive, they often obsess over how they look. And most of them never think they look good enough. How many truly skinny or pretty women do you know who still think they are overweight and unattractive? And they are not happy.

Real beauty

Read 1 Peter 3:3-5. The Apostle Peter wrote this especially to Christian women, but it also speaks to men who feel badly about their physical appearance. There is a command from God here: Do not be concerned about outward beauty. A primary goal of people in the World is to be pretty or handsome and they devote a great deal of time and expense to try to attain this. Do not do the same. Like Peter says, do not waste time and money on “hairstyles,” “jewelry,” and “clothes” trying to make yourself physically attractive according to the World’s standards.

This does not mean you should make yourself physically unattractive. You are an ambassador for Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:20). Your body is still important to God. The Bible says your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you. You do not belong to yourself because God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body (1 Cor 6:19-20).

God wants you to care for your body. You honor God with your body by using it to serve Him and others. This is another reason to care for your body and its health. Unnecessary bad health is a needless hindrance to serving and honoring God with your body. Do your best to ensure your body can serve God.

Nevertheless, God does not want you to believe the Devil’s lie that your real worth is in your physical appearance. Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last, but a woman who loves the Lord will be greatly praised (Prov 31:30). It is not “beauty” that will earn you the praise of God or people who know what is truly valuable.

If some people will judge you by what you look like, it does not mean you have to do the same. “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). This is because what is in your “heart” is what matters to both God and godly people. A young Christian woman may be afraid that no man will be attracted to her because she is not pretty enough. But a godly man, who thinks like God, will be attracted to a woman’s inner beauty and godly character and love for people.

If an unmarried Christian woman wants to be attractive to godly men, “You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within” (1 Pet 3:4). WHAT REALLY MAKES YOU ATTRACTIVE TO GOD AND GODLY PEOPLE IS HIS SPIRIT IN YOU.

God did not directly, purposefully, and uniquely create the appearance of your body. Genes determined your physical body. But as discussed in the next chapter, He did directly, purposefully, and uniquely create your personality. And it is your Spirit-controlled personality that makes you attractive to people and pleasing to God.

You must decide if you want to please God or silly, worldly people. Physical appearance is highly valued by some people, but what they value, God hates (Luke 16:15). It is the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that is so precious to God (1 Pet 3:4). And if you are pleasing the Creator and Master of the Universe because of what He sees in your life, why do you care about what mere humans think?

The most beautiful, handsome, and attractive thing the World will see in you, is the love, joy, and peace of God’s Spirit living through you. This is how the holy women in the Bible made themselves beautiful (1 Pet 3:4-5). And it is how any man or woman will always make themselves truly attractive to others: Revealing Jesus Christ through them.

There was nothing beautiful about Jesus’ appearance, nothing to attract us to Him” (Isa 55:2). But He was certainly attractive! Why? Because of what Jesus had on the inside. And you have the same Person living in you. You can be just as attractive as Jesus was!

It really is what is inside a person that makes them attractive. Scripture says, “What is desirable in a man is his kindness” (Prov 19:22), and “A kindhearted woman gains honor” (Prov 11:16). Even the World would agree with that. It is sin that actually makes people ugly. “A beautiful woman who lacks discretion [Hebrew: taam, “taste”] is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout” (Prov 11:22). Have you ever seen the slimy hairy snout of an old sow up close and personal? It’s ugly. And not even a gold ring will change that. Likewise, the physical beauty of a woman who lacks tact, taste, and grace will not be able to hide her ugliness.

It is the Spirit inside of you that makes you attractive. And that is good news because you have a lot more control over what your heart looks like than what your body looks like. If you want to be truly attractive to people for the glory of God, focus on your heart, not your body. What really makes you attractive to your Dad and people is His Spirit in you, not your physical appearance.

Practical Application: Is there anything you would like to change about how God made you? Pray to God about this. Choose to trust Him with how He has made you. Be confident that you can fulfill God’s will for your life regardless of what you look like.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1) Why do people struggle to accept their physical appearance?

2) What does the Bible say about what Jesus and Paul looked like? What can we learn from this?

3) Why doesn’t our physical attraction matter?

4) What truly makes a person attractive to other people?

5) What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?