"YOU LOOK PRETTY TODAY"

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."- Ephesians 2:10

Throughout this past school year, I noticed that girls often only get compliments when they wear a cute skirt or have done their makeup perfectly. I decided to do a test and not wear makeup for a week or two. (I also hardly dress up for school so nothing was new in that department.) No one came up to me and said, "You have natural beauty," or "You look really nice today." I wasn't offended or even surprised, really. I had seen this go on for months on end, and I was used to it by that time.

So, after those few days, I showed up to school one Friday with a full face of makeup, curled hair, and a nice dress. You wouldn't believe the amount of girls that gasped and said, "Mckenzie, you look so cute today!" Which also, for the record, didn't surprise me. I even had a girl tell me recently: "You have a sort of natural beauty, but when you wear makeup, you look extra pretty." (Is that a compliment? Should I say thank you? How do I interpret this? Um...) Of course, I thanked everyone and gave them a smile to go along with it.

Even this phrasing used to bug me. "You look pretty today!" It's almost implying that any other day, I look absolutely disgusting. (Which, by the way, most likely (er, hopefully) isn't that person's intentions at all.)

There is this stereotype put out by magazines and movies and celebrities that says you have to be wearing makeup and fancy clothes to be considered "pretty". Admittedly, I did fall in and out of this mindset that if I wasn't doing the same beauty routine as the rest of the girls in my grade, that I wasn't as pretty as them. In reality, this image of the "pretty girl" is far from correct.

I can't even tell you how many girls I know that have natural beauty. I see it all the time: at church, at school, in study groups, and anywhere else I go. Girls everywhere fail to see that beauty doesn't come from the Urban Decay Nudes Palette, a Mac Lipstick, or the flashiest dress you can buy at Charlotte Russe or Forever 21.

Christ wanted us to know from the start that he thought we were remarkably beautiful, without all the added jewels and expensive clothing. God thinks that you are perfect, regardless of what accessories or top you wear.

Genesis 1:27 - "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Song of Solomon 4:7 -"You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."

2 Timothy 2:9-10 - "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."

I'm not saying that wearing makeup or an adorable blouse is a huge sin, because it's not. Culture has changed over the years, and these verses aren't saying that it's against God's word to wear a pearl necklace or do a nice fishtail braid. I braid my hair sometimes, and (of course, as a Southern girl) I wear pearls. It's saying that you can wear those cute clothes if you want to, but you should do it modestly and with the right intentions. Wearing fancy clothes and dressing your face up just to get boys' attention isn't the right motivation. You can wear makeup and a skirt and feel dolled-up for a day, but you should remember that beauty doesn't come from your external efforts to impress the ones around you.

1 Peter 3:3-4 - "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

If you don't get anything at all from this post, just remember this: God loves you, no matter what makeup brand or brand name clothes you buy. He loves you for you.

Image Source: http://www.sweetsillysara.com/2015/10/how-to-look-great-even-when-in-rush.html