{True} Beauty Starts in the Heart

Two weeks ago you were introduced to my personal struggle with beauty, all that it is supposed to be versus what it actually is. In Part 2 of the Real Beauty series, you will learn what it means to be truly beautiful

(which is only possible in Christ of course).

 In Proverbs 31:30 it is written, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised," (ESV). This is only one verse, but there is so much knowledge about beauty that can be gained from it. First of all, charm is deceitful. Let's think about Eve in the Garden of Eden. She was deceived by a serpent who offered her the opportunity of becoming like God. In that moment, Eve chose sin. It seemed pleasurable at the time, but ultimately being deceived led to sin and in the end her sin had devastating consequences. If your hope is in what can be gained by good looks instead of in Christ, you are deceived and you will be left with much disappointment as well. Hope in Christ is the only hope that truly satisfies. The second lesson to be learned from Proverbs 31:30 is that beauty is vain. According to Webster's Dictionary, vain means: "Having no real value".

All this is meaningless.

      

This is definitely something to think about when you do your hair, put make up on and choose an outfit. There is nothing wrong with doing these things, but if they are done to the world's standards for the means of pleasing people, then they have no real value. Since we tend to invest so much of our time, effort, hearts and money into beauty, this should convict us to consider our priorities. Let's work on developing hearts that are focused on Christ and  not cosmetics. The third lesson from this verse is stated obviously, but it is sometimes harder to digest.
A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

What does it mean to fear the Lord? Does this mean that we should feel the same way about the Lord that we do about some horror movies? Definitely not. In this sense, to fear is to show respect and devotion. Ladies what steps are you taking in your daily lives that show you respect and are devoted to Christ? If you have more of a focus on getting ready for your day than getting ready for Christ, it's time re-evaluate your love for Him. Since making Christ a priority involves heart change, it will take time. Don't expect to wake up tomorrow and have the heart of Mary (Jesus' mother). Start small and make larger changes over time. Maybe start by reading your Bible for 5 minutes and praying for 5 minutes each day. Cultivating a Christ like heart means weeding out distractions and for some of us, this could mean time spent on our daily beauty routine. It may be hard, but it will be worth it. After all beauty will not last, but our soul will. So why not focus on making something beautiful that will be around for all eternity? My prayer is that you grow more beautiful in His grace daily because in my book (and His) sanctification is beautiful.
 Love, Lolo

Photo Credits:

Photo 1 - me :)

Photo 2