(Wives) 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.
1 Peter 3:3-4
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1-2 MSG
Pornography generates more income than all combined revenues of professional football, baseball and basketball franchises. Millions of Americans are on prescription medications for stress. Americans spend billions on reconstructive surgery, diets, and cosmetics. The suicide rate for teens, especially girls is skyrocketing. Fewer people are married than ever before.
All of these trends have a common basis. We don’t know what beauty is.
Watch this brief video and think about your perception of beauty. What is portrayed as beauty today isn’t realistic. It isn’t really real. We are drowning in media which sets up standards which 99.9 of us can’t reach. But what is worse, in this flood we have lost sight of what true beauty really is.
Have you ever known people who just glow? I’m talking about those men and women whose faces just glisten with Christ in their lives. And while their outward features, that is, their external beauty, may be great or they may be “repulsive” the glory of Christ shines through them. There is nothing more beautiful than that.
God knows what sinful creatures we are. When we are young, generally our skin is smooth, our hair is abundant and our fat is not. In this condition men and women are drawn together, and humanity continues. But the plan is that originally drawn together principally by the physical that we will mature to see the true beauty in others and the deterioration of the body and its beauty will be meaningless. However, in addition to being awash in media misrepresentations of beauty; we are also stunted in our spiritual growth.
Let’s refocus and grow up. Let’s rejoice and feed the spirit man and appreciate that beautiful spirit in the renewed around us. That may mean a little less TV and a little more Jesus. Our cable is out until Thursday. I feel a revival coming on.
You’re looking good. Be blessed.
Nick
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