Cultivating A Godly Beauty

By: Erlinda Mejia Olson

ROMANS 12:1-3 ~ "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 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."

"Beauty is more than skin deep—it starts in the heart and works outward."  -Elizabeth George

I find it sad that in today's culture beauty and appearance emerge supreme. Everyday is a constant battle with ways on how to improve your appearance. The popular culture and mass media have clouded the true meaning of beauty. Advertisements and TV shows that changing people the way they look for more money, big ratings. People are being told they are fat, they are not good looking enough, so why not try the latest weight loss program, diet pills, laser and surgical liposuction, body sculpting, plastic surgery, botox, lifts and implants, and so forth.

These past few weeks I have been contemplating on God's definition of a beautiful woman. The more I study and meditate on His Word, the more aware I have become of my role and purpose as a woman, grateful and content for what and how He made me—inside and out.

The Bible teaches us to not to be conformed to this world (Romans 12:1-3). But to have a heart attitude that reflects God’s definition of beauty than by simply fitting into the world’s perspective of beauty.

I was very moved by these words from Carolyn Mahaney on the series, 'Beauty Inside Out', she said:

"We need to replace the vanity in our lives with the pursuit of godliness. We can try as hard as we may, but we are not going to find any scripture in the Bible that encourages pursuing a body that is perfectly thin, always tanned and completely toned. It is not a godly pursuit."

Now, stop for a moment and think of this pursuit. Is it not self-glory rather than God's glory we are pursuing when it is our goal to be thin, tanned and toned? Doesn't the pursuit of a perfect figure lead to a pre-occupation with self, rather than a pre-occupation with God?

The Bible teaches us that God's focus is on developing our inner beauty so that it can be reflected in everything we do and what we are.

The LORD said to Samuel,

"Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

This means: The world focuses on what people look like on the outside. God focuses on what people look like on the inside. Not that God doesn't care on the outside, but His emphasis is more towards the inward or inner person. He created us "...whole spirit, soul, and body..." (1 Thessalonians 5:23 ). While there is nothing wrong with wanting to look beautiful, however, we need to keep appearance in perspective. Is it balanced? The Bible teaches us that it is important to present ourselves as nicely as possible, but God does not call us to go to extremes.

We need to ask ourselves these questions: What is our motive? For whose glory are we doing it for? Where do we spend most of our time and effort into being beautiful on the outside or the inside? And sad as it is, I’m not proud to say, that I've met a lot of people who spend more time manipulating their God-given natural beauty to attain physical perfection. No contentment and full of themselves. With God’s definition of beauty in mind, I believe He would rather see us work on becoming drop-dead gorgeous on the inside. You see, the pursuit of having a perfect body is vanity. We are not seeking God’s glory but rather for own glory. And God's Word reviles such a pursuit. We are not to be conformed into the image our society dictates and idolizes. We are to be conformed into the image of His Son Jesus Christ.

So, our eating and exercise habits should mirror aspirations such as these: I am cultivating the fruit of the spirit of self-control in my life ... I aspire to treat my body as not my own ... I aspire to strengthen my body for effective service to God. These should be the kinds of aspirations we should have and not aspirations for self-glory or men’s applause.

When was the last time you heard a woman say that she needs to be more disciplined and exercise for the purpose of strengthening her body for the Lord's service? Don’t women typically grieve over their lack of discipline in this area because of the harmful effects it has on how they look, rather than the harmful effects it has on their body's health and strength?

Are they not typically more concerned about a bulging stomach and thighs that are too big than they are concerned about the health and strength of their body?

When was the last time you heard a woman grieve over the fact that she has dishonored God by overeating? Is not her sadness about her sinful eating habits usually because of the unhealthy results it has on her appearance, rather than a godly sorrow for disobeying the Lord?

Are we pursuing vanity or are we pursuing godliness in our eating and exercising habits? Are we seeking our own glory or are we seeking God's glory in the way we care for our body? We need to realize God is not going to bless our vain pursuits. He is not going to honor self-glorification. He is only going to bless the pursuit of godliness in our lives.

We need to settle this once and for all.

How about the area of our clothing? Are we seeking the approval of others or are we seeking to impress? Or, worse yet, are we seeking to lure men by the way we dress and care for our appearance? Again, these are vain pursuits and the Bible strongly forbids such attitudes and behavior.

How do I cultivate Godly beauty?  So you may ask.

First, begin with His Son, Jesus Christ. Do you know Him personally?  Is He the Lord and Savior of your life?  Is He the center of your entire universe?

Allow me to end by sharing with you a story that John Piper included in his book, ‘Future Grace’.  It is about a woman who abandoned the quest for physical beauty in pursuit of true beauty.

Evelyn Harris Brand, the mother of Paul Brand, the world-renowned hand surgeon and leprosy specialist, grew up in a well-to-do English family. She had studied at the London Conservatory of Art and dressed in the finest silks.

But she went with her husband to minister as missionaries in the Kolli Malai range of India. After about 10 years, her husband died at age 44. And she came home a broken woman, beaten down by pain and grief. But after a year's recuperation and against all advice she returned to India.

Her soul was restored as she poured her life into the hill people--nursing the sick, teaching farming, lecturing about guinea worms, rearing orphans, clearing jungle land, pulling teeth, establishing schools, preaching the Gospel. She lived in a portable hut 8 feet square that could be taken down, moved and erected again.

At age 67 she fell and broke her hip. Her son Paul had just come to India as a surgeon. He encouraged her to retire. She had already suffered a broken arm, several cracked vertebrae and recurrent malaria. Paul mounted as many arguments as he could think of to persuade her that 67 years was a good investment in ministry and now it was time to retire.

Her response?

"Paul, you know these mountains. If I leave, who will help the village people? Who will treat their wounds and pull their teeth and teach them about Jesus? When someone comes to take my place then, and only then, will I retire. In any case, why preserve this old body if it's not going to be used where God needs me.” That was her final answer so she worked on."

At the age of 95 she died. Following her instructions, villagers buried her in a simple cotton sheet so that her body would return to the soil and nourish new life. Her spirit, too, lives on in a church, a clinic, several schools and in the faces of thousands of villagers across five mountain ranges of south India.

Her son commented that with wrinkles as deep and extensive as any I have ever seen on a human face, she was a beautiful woman. But it was not the beauty of the silk and heirlooms of London high society. For the last 20 years of her life, she refused to have a mirror in her house. She was consumed with ministry, not mirrors.

So I may ask:

What are we consumed with? Ministry or mirrors? Which beauty are we seeking to cultivate? The beauty that is of great value to God or the beauty that our society dictates and idolizes. Like Evelyn Harris Brand, if we pursue true beauty, our femininity will only grow more beautiful. Like Evelyn Harris Brand, if we seek to please God in our quest for beauty, our femininity will even be more beautiful at age 95 than it is now. Allow God to help you cultivate a Godly beauty. He would rather see women work on becoming beautiful on the inside — the kind of beauty that lasts forever.  A beauty that never fades with aging.

""Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:29-31)

Scripture Reference:

Romans 12:1-3

Matthew 7:20

Matthew 23:28

Matthew 10:28

James 1:23

Colossians 3:17

Psalm 139:14

Proverbs 31:3

Proverbs 31:29-31

1 Samuel 16:7

1 Timothy 4:8

Philippians 2:3-4

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

1 Peter 3:3-4

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***Journal Date: July 23, 2014
***Time: 13:40 CST