As I sat in Subway today, I noticed a pair of girls sitting in the booth next to me. One thing struck me about them, they were seeking belonging and acceptance,....pure and simple. Both looked to be in their late teens, early twenties, and by the way they were dressed, I could see that their idea of how they would acquire this acceptance was one that the world was telling them was correct. Now my heart really hurts for them, as for all women, that are growing in an age where looks, beauty, clothing, and all out appearance is the indicator for self-worth, self-esteem, and belonging. I hate it! Oh and guys, guess what?, most of this problem has occurred, not because of the female aspect of society, but because of, you guessed it...us! Now before you quit reading with the idea that this is some sort of judgmental soapbox rant on my part, give me a few more lines to explain what I am feeling.
Ladies, let me try to clarify something here. Your worth has never been, and will never be based on the way you look, dress, or appear to people in this world (whether in attracting men, or gaining the praise of women). This is what I hope is understood through this blog. YOU ARE SPECIAL, JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. You were created perfectly by our Father above, and there is none like you on this Earth. There is no need to try to amplify your beauty through clothes, make-up, or anything else. Your beauty will radiate from within you, if you simply allow it to.
1 Peter States: "Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing-but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4
and
Proverbs 31:30 says, " Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised"
You see, beauty is inside you from your faith in the Lord, and you know what? He created you in a way in which only you can show your faith to Him in that way. Each Christian belongs to the Body of Christ, and each piece of the body is beautifully and wonderfully made. Each piece serves a beautiful and unique purpose that only that one piece can fill. You are accepted, and belong to His Body, and the beauty that shows from you is the beauty that is seen when you are worshipping him as that part of the body for which you were created. Loving Him and following Him lets this inward beauty poor out to others all around. They see the beauty of your light shining before men, and give glory to your Lord. How awesome and beautiful is that!
I don't begin to sit in a place where I feel like I can understand the emotion and pressure you feel each day, but I do say this: You are loved by the Lord and by all your brothers and sisters for just that, being a brother and sister. There is no need to feel like you must do anything other than love Him and the others around you, for everyone to see how awesomely beautiful, unique, and wonderful you are.
1 Corinthians 12:14-26
You are Special!
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8 comments:
What a timely blog! I read an article on yahoo.com just today about the Miss Universe pageant. This is what the world tells women they should look like. The article says, “over 70% of all Miss Universe queries are coming from men who just can't get enough of the contestants.” Just look at the message that is sent to women when so many men, and I’m sure Christian men too, are looking at these images of perfection. And not to let the men off too lightly, every time you look at these women, you are sending messages to women that this is what you value. Unfortunately, what men are really seeing when they look at these women, and how little they are wearing has been compared to soft porn in many a church. http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/21784/universal-appeal
The miss universe is seen as soft porn in church? That is terrible. Take a look at The Song of Solomon, which is harder than the miss universe pagent. I can't imagine those churches ever opening their Bibles to that book. Such things like this:
There's no one like her on earth,
never has been, never will be.
9She's a woman beyond compare.
My dove is perfection,
Pure and innocent as the day she was born,
and cradled in joy by her mother.
Everyone who came by to see her
exclaimed and admired her--
All the fathers and mothers, the neighbors and friends,
blessed and praised her:
10"Has anyone ever seen anything like this--
dawn-fresh, moon-lovely, sun-radiant,
ravishing as the night sky with its galaxies of stars?"
Hmm everyone admiring beauty. That must be a sin,,, but wait wasn't this written by God through Solomon? Are we supposed to admire beauty or is any time a man looks at a women and thinks "beautiful" they have lust in their hearts?
or how about this from Solomon:
"3Your breasts are like fawns,
twins of a gazelle.
4Your neck is carved ivory, curved and slender.
Your eyes are wells of light, deep with mystery.
Quintessentially feminine!
Your profile turns all heads,
commanding attention."
My point is that beauty is not a sin. A women's natural beauty should be admired, but not lusted after. Even Solomon admired breasts, something most men do. Yet this book is not seen as a lustful book, but a godly inspired one. See Jesus says this:
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Thus looking at a women, say with admiration, is not a sin. But looking at a women with lust in your heart is. It is not about the women we see, but about what is in our hearts that matters.
Which is why I believe these two posts are off the mark a little bit. The Bible clearly shows that women can be admired for their beauty. Solomon would make a perfect Miss Universe judge.
What is happening in our conservative churches is the women are infact castrating the males by forbiding them to use their eyes. The women are directing the men in how they should behave and what they should be doing instead of being submissive, and thus our marriage rate is ever so decreasing.
The Bible tells women how to dress and how to submit themselves to man. These things have fallen away and have therefore decreased the family. The women of today have projected themselves onto non-Christian women and take lessons from them instead of Solomon and Timothy. They have picked and chosen which moral guidelines to follow to suit their needs and left the ones about the man being the leader out of the relationship. I leave with Timothy.
Signed an Anonymous Christian
1 Timothy 2:9-15
9 also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, 10 but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. 11 Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. 12 I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.
i simply wanted to say thank you for your honest encouragement to women who constantly deal with self-image issues. we all do in some way. :)
Ah, one more viewpoint or addition rather. Solomon was referring to his wife. To quote from the very first line of the verse you referenced: There's no one like her on earth, never has been, never will be. Who is Solomon speaking about here? All women? Certainly not! This man's eyes are for his bride and her alone. (Delight yourself in the wife of your youth) There is a distinction between admiring other women and enjoying your wife. Solomon was not admiring "breats", he was celebrating and delighting himself in the wife the Lord had blessed him with. As far as women castrating, I believe this is addressed also in the Bible (if your eye causes you to sin, better to gauge it out).
Actually the comment about Solomon referring to his wife is wrong. The women he is referring to is a potential wife and Solomon is trying to woo her by talking about her like that. But she is in love with a shephard and even though Solomon has it all he won't have her. Solomon is in fact telling her all these things to get her to marry him. He is admiring her features and is telling her that he is doing so. The women back then took it as a compliment. Should Solomon, the son of David, gauged his eyes out because he commented on a women's features? There is such a big difference between admiration and lust. Solomon should know. He had many many wives, but she was not one of them.
Whoa! So much controversy, why do all of these comments seem like a battle of the sexes view on women, attraction, and lust? Josh, I appreciate your heart on this issue, which in my opinion is a huge issue, and I am not sure what everyone else got from it, but as for me, its about the fact that women often resort to worldly means of obtaining beauty because they do not truly understand their worth and beauty that is much richer than skin deep, and can only accurately be understood after realizing who’s they are (God’s child) and the value that God has placed on them.
oops meant whose instead of who's-haha
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http://www.pinkimpact.com/onlinebrochure.pdf
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