You know beauty is fleeting. Now, if you are like me that you have never had to deal with the rigors of keeping up a beautiful appearance, but many people do. I mention this today because Valentines day was earlier this week, and events like that make us focus so much on beauty and romance. Sometimes people move to a point where they give undue attention to, and focus on, beauty. Such actions can make people act in less then intelligent ways.
If you are a teenager the first part of this post may seem worthless too you, but keep reading as there is some meat for you in the end. The first part of this post is really focused on those adults that are still overly focused on their appearance, when it is beginning to fade.
We all know men and woman that are so concerned about their appearance that they seem to miss the rest of the world around them. This is especially true when people begin to get into their middle years and are still alone, or find themselves alone again. In such situations, some people begin to doubt their own worth and value because they focus on the fact that they have no real solid prospects in their lives, and that their blooms are fading. These doubts and concerns are reinforced in their mind when the people they are interested in are not attracted to them, but to younger men and women that look better, are fitter, etc.
What such people are missing is that they are looking for the wrong kind of people to begin with. If a person is always looking to trade for a newer / younger model then it is just a matter of time until they move on anyway.
Now, lets be honest of here. We all have to be attracted to the person physically first, but that initial phase, where physical attraction is all there is, should quickly pass. Soon, we should reach a point where we are attracted to rest of the person. Some people do not understand that and strive to maintain their appearance above the rest of their personality and character. Now I am not saying that you should let yourself go when you get in a good relationship, but the importance of physical beauty wanes when the relationship is truly well grounded. Long term those that focus entirely on physical beauty will end up with a series of failed relationships, and emotional disappointments. Beauty and looks fade, but personality and character remain. At some point you have to accept the fact that you can not longer be the belle of the ball or the hottest guy in the community.
Some people are just not willing to accept that though. These are the people that are more worried about their attractiveness then the rest of themselves. They watch all those make over shows, which in itself is not a biggie, but then they think that they are always worse off then the person on the show. Their next thought is that they need all the work that the participant gets - tummy tuck, brow lift, boob job, chin reshaping, facial resurfacing, Devinci veneers, lyposuction, and anything else that comes along.
If the person is that way, then they are really saying that they do not think that their personality/ character is sufficient to be loved. This leaves them with the belief that their only means of maintaining a relationship is to be overly appealing to the opposite sex. This also allows them to pad their ego by remaining the envy of other women or men. It also shows the world that appearance is a large part of their thoughts. One of the best summaries I have heard for this type of person / lifestyle is - " they are back in high school again". That is sadly true.
Now, I know you are wondering how this relates to God and our walk. Well, if you assume that excessive vanity is always going to exist, and that some will always be overly vane, then this post will appear completely irrelevant too you. For me however, excessive vanity is a reflection of a persons true inner self/state. People who are satisfied with themselves, and their lives, do not seem to worry tremendously what people think and say about them. People that are always worried about what people think, and say, are usually unhappy with themselves, and are just trying to hide their fears from the world.
I know that the above statements are over simplified, and there are exceptions to every rule, but I think the majority of the time our outward concerns for vanity seem to reflect our inner states. Understand now, I am not saying that we should walk around unclean, or in sack cloth, to prove that we are happy. I am not saying that you should not take care of yourself, and if you are married that is part of being a good spouse as your body is your partners body. There is absolutely nothing wrong with washing up, combing our hair (or wearing a cap to cover hat hair as I do), and wearing clean cloths. My point is that if we regularly / consistently / constantly worry about what others think of us, and we are regularly working to satisfy someone else’s definition of who / what we should be, then we are probably masking our own unhappiness and self-loathing.
On that cheery note, the only real solution to inner peace and self satisfaction is knowing Christ. Those that are saved already know that, but the world completely misses it. The world believes one more raise, one more award, one more something will finally make them happy. They pursue one dead end path after another eventually ending is a final and eternal defeat. Sure, some worldly people may be less concerned about certain things then others, but in the end their entire self worth is always based on something they do or have, how they behave, how they think, etc. Maybe it is their job, their degrees, their awards, their fame, their anything, but they have only their ownselves to depend on. If they fall, or fail, so does their self esteem.
Many think that Christ is a limiting factor in the lives of His followers, but in reality He is a freeing force that gives your life purpose, hope and encouraging. Your success, and worth is no longer based on yourself. Your success and worth is now based on the work of God and the value that He sees in you. That releases us from being dependent on ourselves to be happy. Just think how valuable and important I must be for God to send His only Son to die for ME!!! Sure admitting that I needed to be saved makes me see my fallen nature (the reason Christ had to come), but it also lets me see just how valuable I am.
God wants His people to show the world their inner peace by replacing self vanity with God inspired self worth. We are nothing without Him, but with Him we are everything. We no longer have to worry about what the world thinks, in fact if we do we really are missing God. The world rejected Christ. The world (including many that claimed to follow God) thought He was crazy, foolish, a liar, and a fraud. What makes us think that the world today would think more of us. The world thinks Christians are just trying to pattern our lives after a dead con man. How great it is when you know the truth. When you know that the saved serve the risen savior. When you know that the saved serve the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He is!!!
What a rejoicing thought to know that my self worth is not based on the worlds view of my external appearance, or my earthly successes. My value is not even based on my good actions and deeds, as even my best works are like dirty rags to God. My worth is based on the fact that the creator of the Universe loved me so much that He sent His Son to die for ME!!! He is the lover of my soul, and He wants to give me all I need. I need Him. The world may laugh, the world may mock, tease and lampoon, but God is sufficient and if the price for me following Him is social ostracism then so be it.
Have a great day being counted as a outcast of the world for God.
