Beautiful People

 

So, I have a guilty secret….or not so secret if you know me.  I do enjoy my celebrity magazines with all the pictures and articles.  As I grow in the Lord, I am replacing my reading time with His time but I still find myself flipping those magazine pages.  I was in the waiting room of the dentist yesterday and found myself surrounded by these magazines, in different publications and dates.  Where to start?  As I glanced at the covers to see what might be the better source of good reading, one title caught my eye, “World’s Most Beautiful Woman”.  Hmmm…..

I have pondered this phrase all day and I’m not sure if this actually applies to the celebrity to whom it was  attached.  When I was little, I just knew that my mother was the most beautiful woman in the world.  My friends had pretty moms but my mom outshone them all!  As I grew older, that role was filled with a great number of celebrities and public people.  Now we find out that they are all part of a great smoke and mirror magic trick and are not really what they appear to me on the magazine covers but are really a creation of photo shop.  As I thought about this phrase, Proverbs 31 came to mind.  Read below from Proverbs 31:10-31,

^10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find? 
    She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value. 
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands. 
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy. 
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

The first part of this section of verses describes the activity of this woman.  She takes care of her husband, children and home.  Her attributes are wisdom, laughter and strength.  The stand out phrase for me is that “charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting”.  How true is this!!  The older I get the more this becomes true as wrinkles fill my skin and my body doesn’t quite look the way it did when I was younger.  My worth should not and can not be defined by my appearance, but rather by who I am on the inside.  Are my thoughts and words pleasing to the Lord?  Have I taken care of my family to the best of my ability?  Do I show love and compassion to others?  Am I not judgmental or complaining?  These are the areas that combine to make a truly beautiful person.  These are the areas that I seek to try and refine.

Oh, celebrity magazines, how I do enjoy you but perhaps in this area, Beautiful People, we will have to disagree!  There is so much more to be said about beauty but I will focus on that another day.  For today, it is enough to know that God loves me just the way I am on the outside and He is perfecting me on the inside!