Like any woman, I care about what I look like especially at my age. I still take a little time in the mornings to beautify myself with a little lip gloss and sometimes even eye makeup!
I dress for work even though I’m at home. I like to try new hairstyles and I like rings and bracelets. I want my skin to look better and I love to smell good. But, there’s one beauty that’s equally and…even more important…inner beauty.
Have you ever met someone that was gorgeous? It looked like they have everything in place, the right clothes, hairstyle, right down to the shoes they were wearing. But, when you met and got to know him/her, it turns out their attitude didn’t match up?
I’ve run into people in my life that acted like they were better than others because of their outward beauty. All of a sudden, they didn’t seem very attractive. It was because the inner personality overshadowed the outward appearance.
Jesus says He looks at our heart. We should always look at in our inner qualities and spend even more time improving it as we do on the outside. Ask yourself these questions: “Is my heart as beautiful as I want to be on the outside?” “Am I examining myself constantly to see if I’m demonstrating genuine love, kindness, and tenderness to my husband/wife, my family, my friends?” If not, how can I say I love God? And all the eyeshadow in the world won’t make me beautiful if my behavior is unpleasant.
On the flip side, I’ve also met people who weren’t as physically attractive, but had the sweetest disposition and it made them look beautiful. Funny how that happens, but God made us in such a way that it is our soul/heart that stands out. It is the thing that lives on after the body is wrinkled, hair is white, and bones are sagging.
Galatians 5:22 lists the Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) which we should be showing everyday. When we come into the family of God, He begins a wonderful transformation in us so that we can show the world the love of Jesus. And when the fruits of the spirits are operating, the beauty on the inside shines brightly on the outside. It’s these inner qualities that makes anyone look beautiful.
Nothing is wrong at all with wearing nice clothes or flattering accessories but I won’t forget that these things are temporal and what I really want is for people to see Jesus working in me.
