The world’s standards of beauty make it seem like beauty can only come in one form or just one particular body shape or skin tone.
It’s bad and unacceptable if your skin is too dark,
too light skinned,
too skinny,
too chubby,
Too much makeup on, not enough makeup on
God forbid if your waistline is wider than 29 inches.
Trying to conform to the world’s standard of beauty is such a huge burden; seeing as outward beauty is said to be “in the eyes of the beholder’ and is quite “relative”.
What is God’s standard for feminine beauty?
1 Peter 3:3-4 says “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 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.”
We live in a world that pays way too much attention to people’s physical looks and appearances while ignoring the content of people’s hearts and the strength of their character. However, our heavenly father is more concerned with the posture and contents of our hearts, he does not judge us by our looks. (1 Sam. 16:7).
Women need to come to the realization that they were wonderfully and fearfully made by God; they don’t need to measure up to society’s standard of beauty before they see themselves as beautiful or believe in the beauty that God already created them with. After all, the bible says God created all human beings in his image (both male and female) In fact, Genesis 1:31 says that God saw all that He had made, and “it was very good”.
Epitomes of Godly feminine beauty
The Proverbs 31 woman was described as the kind of woman who invested quite an amount of money and effort into her looks and she clearly had a wonderful sense of style. She was finely clothed in pure and fine linen and purple wool but most importantly she was clothed in strength and dignity and was of noble character.
There was more to her than just expensive clothes and make-up that’s on fleek.
I am not saying it is wrong for women to make efforts to adorn themselves with nice clothings and all that, of course do that and with modesty.
I myself enjoy shopping for new beautiful clothes that fit my body shape just to look pretty for myself and for my husband. I feel much more confident when I am smartly dressed and look good.
I don’t believe that looking tattered and unkempt is a christian thing; but we shouldn’t pay more attention to the beauty that the world chases over the inward beauty that God wants us to exude in our spirit and character. After all, what’s the use of a seemingly beautiful body with an ugly spirit and impure heart?
Sadly, women (including Christians) have adopted the world’s standard of beauty, trying so hard to look like one Hollywood star/actress or the other. Not that I have something against them; and not to put them down but frankly, a Godly woman’s ideal epitome of beauty should not be Hollywood actresses and the likes.
Our epitomes of beauty should be women who love God, are living fearlessly for him and pursuing their God given purpose. There are so many women in present times and also in the biblical times who fit into the aforementioned description.
There’s Mary the mother of Jesus who was a symbol of purity but was also whole heartedly submitted to the will of God. There’s Phoebe who served as a deacon and supported Paul as many others in the work of the Lord. Let’s not forget powerful Deborah, an Israelite judge who had an unwavering faith in God and led the Israelite troops to victory whose story is written in the book of Judges. There’s also Esther, Ruth, Priscilla and we can go on and on and on.
You were Created Beautiful
Sis! You were created in God’s own image, you are an embodiment of beauty. Stop subscribing to the lies that the media spreads to make women believe they need to have unnecessary cosmetic surgeries to look beautiful.
If you feel the need to enhance your natural beauty, you could do so while honouring your body as the temple of God. By all means, go on that healthy diet, do some more cardio and pilates to tone up your physique; do everything sane that you wish to do but let it be done in moderation, lest you become obsessed with your outward body or give it priority over your inner man.
Pay attention to the content of your heart and your spirit. Ask yourself: “Is my heart completely submitted to God?” “Do I truly have the spirit of God and am I manifesting the fruits of the Spirit?” “Am I doing all I can do to nourish and beautify my spirit (through the word of God)?”
Godly beauty is beyond looks It’s not the designer label that we have on backs.
Neither is it about our beautiful sleek hair or slicked down edges.
All of these might make us more physically attractive but that‘s not what makes us beautiful in the eyes of God.
A gentle and quiet spirit; and a heart that reveres the Lord are what truly matters because therein does true and genuine feminine beauty lie
