TRUE BEAUTY

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [a]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB)

The society we live in is consumed with the significance in our outer appearance. We are bombarded on a daily basis by merchandisers who push their products of beauty through every conceivable outlet available. T.V. commercials, billboard advertisements, magazine articles, and social media; bombard us daily with the world’s viewpoint of how we should look. The problem with such advertising is the fact that they come with not-so-subtle innuendos that say to us in order to be widely accepted by others we need to be, look like & possess certain things in our lives.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with one taking great care of ourselves we cannot spend all of our time beautifying ourselves externally, while leaving ourselves internally bankrupt or spiritually unkempt. We cannot use or allow the world’s standards of external beauty to keep us limited in how we see ourselves nor use it to determine someone else worth.
We must know that we are not here to be pleasing to man, but to please & glorify God. God our father, is not concerned with how we adorn our outer man, while He does hold us accountable for taking good care of our earthly temples; He is more concerned with whether or not we are committed in being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

When we are conformed into the image of Jesus Christ, the internal transformation that takes place, the beautifying of our souls, is the greatest asset we can obtain. Romans 8:29 says For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.
We can spend hours on end trying to beautify what others see but we must understand nothing that we purchase or put on us can replace the miraculous working of God’s Holy Spirit within us. When we allow God to work in & through us we begin to take on the characteristics of Christ. When His characteristics of love, joy, peace & strength are developed within us they will automatically shine through us which will be pleasing to God. Know that the beauty of God’s presence in you is better than anything the world has to offer.