Maybe it's just me but I really love makeup. And I mean, I really love it. There's just something about the handy tools in my makeup bag that can magically transform me from Plain Beverly Jane to the Dashing Dame Beverly Jane!
But as I was taking off my makeup the other night, this different thought shot across my mind: Why do I even bother wearing makeup? This stuff's such a hassle to take off. And then it hit. Why do I wear makeup?? Now, I'm not sure about you, but I wear makeup for about three reasons.
1) It's fun. There's just something about applying makeup that's captivating and fun. Maybe it was even built into us, a little part that God gave us. After all, little girls get into their mothers' makeup bags alot, right?
2.) It makes us feel pretty. I should probably admit that this is true for the most part. If questioned, many women will say that they feel that they are not pretty or beautiful enough, at least, according to the world's standards. Our media has ingrained in our hearts and minds that if we don't have a body like Halle Berry or hair like Jennifer Aniston then we are not beautiful. Very few women fit the world's description of beauty, and I believe many of us use makeup as an extra cushion to make up for what we lack.
3)We do it for the opposite sex. This last reason might link together with the second one, as many of us like to feel cherished and praised by men. I can't name one girl friend I know who hasn't at one point in her life wanted the attention of males, myself included.
But all that has brought me to this: If we, as women, desire to be truly beautiful, and I don't mean just physical beauty, but true beauty that comes from the inside out, why are we running to Sephora and not straight to God, who Himself created the very essence of beauty? Why are we finding ourselves surrounded by magazines such as Cosmopolitan or even the well-meaning Glamour instead of *gulp* the Bible? We should be feeding our spirits and hearts with edifying material, sources that will uplift our soul and help us in our walk with Jesus; not sources that pollute it and cause us to spiral further into sin.
I know how it is, to want to be beautiful. I wanted so badly, so desperately to be what those around me would call "attractive," but when you're only 4'10 and already lacking a sufficient chest and hips, it's a little hard to be this thing called "attractive." I've always been petite, horribly petite, even among other petite women, I was always smaller and always wishing that God had blessed me with more.
And it's true! As women, we desire passionately to be beautiful and why? Why do we spend hours in front of the bathroom mirror fixing our hair to make sure it's juuust right? Why do we waste our free time watching You Tube for makeup tutorials? Or even subjugating our God-given dignity to wearing immodest clothing, such as booty shorts or revealing tops? It's all a vain attempt to be beautiful. We desire to be beautiful because desiring to be beautiful is a God-given desire; He created us--us--specifically for beauty, to give beauty to the world.
The only tragedy is that our ideals of beauty have been seriously distorted by Hollywood's standards. Since when did our beauty depend on having the perfect body or even the perfect face? Since when did your beauty become all about the kind of clothes you wear or how "charming" you are as a person?
True beauty comes from the heart; it comes from knowing the Lord and faithfully, selflessly serving Him. It is when we leave behind what the world wants do we become truly beautiful.
Proverbs 31: 30 says, "Charm is deceptive and [physical] beauty fleeting; but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
So let's ask Jesus to touch all that needs healing in our hearts today. Let's ask that He teaches us how to be true women of Christ, beautiful in thoughts, words, and of course, deeds!
-Many hugs, Beverly
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