True Beauty Part 1: God's Definition of Beauty

Over the next couple days I’m going to share some on the topic of beauty, what it should look like in God’s eyes. Before I begin I'd like to share about someone who has greatly effected my life in the area of cultivating a gentle and quiet spirit. Over many years my mom has taught numerous women on Biblical feminity, in particular her daughters. She has not only taught what true beauty should look like, but displays it daily inside our home. Anything I've shared below is all a result of her teaching. Mom, thank you for the example you are of a Titus 2 woman and for having a heart that displays the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. I can’t imagine where I’d be in my relationship with the Lord if it wasn’t for you! Thank you!

Proverbs 31:30- “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

“Physical beauty does not deliver as advertised. It does not produce the happiness and success that the beguiling voices in our society promise. Our culture puts forth a false standard of beauty and a false message about beauty, but ultimately the wickedness already resident in the human heart is what motivates us to believe such lies and pursue them.” -Carolyn Mahaney

We are instructed out of Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to the fallen world we live in. We need to ask ourselves, have we been prone to cultivate the world’s portrait of beauty or God’s portrait of beauty? “Nowhere in the Bible are women instructed to wish for, ask for, or strive for physical beauty. Instead, God’s Word warns us of the futility and deceitfulness of such a portrait.”- CM

1 Peter 3:3-5 tells us that our beauty “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. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.”

God’s definition of beauty stands out much greater than how our culture defines beauty. Our culture defines beauty by how we look on the outside. God defines beauty by how we look on the inside. God’s agenda for beauty is one that we can all attain if we respond to His work on the cross for us and then notice His grace in our lives. This beauty is one of great worth! God encourages women to cultivate a beauty that will NEVER fade and will only grow more attractive with the passing of time, a beauty that is only attractive in His eyes.

“A woman who cultivates inner beauty; who fears God and lives to serve others makes a difference in people’s lives. Her inner beauty makes a lasting impact on the lives she touches. Godly, inner beauty makes an indelible mark on the lives of others and glorifies God. The way we think about and attend to our personal appearance is really a mirror of our hearts. By reflecting either godly motivations or selfish motivations, we reveal whether our priority is to cultivate inner beauty or outer beauty.” -CM

Here are some questions I‘ve asked myself and would challenge you to do the same today:

1. Do I spend more time daily caring for my personal appearance than I do in my Bible study, prayer, and worship?
2. Do I dress immodestly or with the intent of drawing attention to myself, or do I always dress in a manner that pleases God? (The first two questions are provided from Carolyn Mahaney)
3. When people look at me do they see someone that makes a lasting impact on others?
4. Do I worry more about my outward appearance or serving others?
5. Do I make an indelible mark on the lives of others?
6. Is my outward appearance an idol in my life?