#1 - WORLDLY BEAUTY VS. GODLY BEAUTY
"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are they works; and that my soul knoweth right well." - Psalm 139:14
Beauty and how girls see themselves is one of the most important topics that I feel like I need to address (hence 2+ articles about it). So many girls all over the world struggle with confidence and beating themselves up over the way they look on the outside. I know it sounds like a huge cliche, but it's what's on the inside that counts. By that, I mean that Godly beauty is all that matters.
Merriam-Webster defines the word worldly as "of or relating to the human world and ordinary life rather than to religious or spiritual matters". When I think about worldly beauty, I think of expensive clothing lines and makeup brands such as Mac, Patagonia, Urban Decay, Too Faced, Versace, Armani, and more. All of these name brands have a tendency to "boost" your social status or make it seem as if you're more popular or better than others.
Godly is explained by Merriam-Webster as "believing in God and in the importance of living a moral life". This has to do with having all of those traits listed throughout the bible that you need to be more like God. This includes being loving, kind, pure, generous, humble and more. (Basically, the Fruit of the Spirit.)
Genesis 1:26-27 - "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[a] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
From the beginning, God wanted us to be like him in every way possible. We were made to be exactly like Him - minus His all-knowing and righteous attributes, respectively. Because of this, (and because we are His children) He loves us all equally more than anything. We could have the best makeup brands or not be able to afford any at all, and God would still love us the same.
Three verses I think are extremely important and relevant to this article:
Matthew 16:24-26 - "Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Romans 12:2 - "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Matthew 6:19-21 - "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
In the simplest way possible, God doesn't care about worldly possessions. They won't earn His love for you or get you the biggest mansion in Heaven.
My challenge for you is this: train your mind to look for, take notice of, and care more about Godly beauty and traits, instead of caring about material things. After all, they are what matter the most.
Image Source: http://favim.com/image/4686362/
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