Beauty Defined

Rebekah Scott 

Today I was put down for my appearance. It all started with a trip to the store to buy more paint.

I went to the section in the back where all the craft items were located and proceeded to search for the right colors amidst a disorganized mess. While getting down on my knees to try and find the right shade of red, two girls, who by my estimate were around age 15-16, walked down the same aisle

Then they began to talk to each other. They started off by saying “Wow. Who in their right mind would leave the house wearing clothes likes that?” I thought at first that they were making fun of each other, but when I turned my head they were both looking at me. I am sure my face turned beet red when I noticed they were talking about me. Yeah, I was wearing an old pair of shorts, and t-shirt that had some paint on it, but I figured it would be alright to go out—seeing as I was only leaving the house for 10 minutes to go grab paint… little did I know.

Their comments continued. “Who does she think she is? Wearing shorts with such fat, white legs? You don’t see us doing anything stupid like that.” I have to admit, even though it was coming from total strangers, it still stung. I almost wanted to retort back, but I knew that would be wrong and wouldn’t gain me anything. I just kept my head down, found my paints, and tried to get out of the situation as unscathed as possible.

As I passed by them on the aisle one of them said, “Might as well go and cover yourself up with that ugly face of yours. And don’t forget to put on some full-length sweatpants! No one wants to see that!”  They laughed at me as I walked away.

It had been a rather good day leading up to that point and I was determined not to let a rude encounter ruin what was left of it. As soon as I got home, I did some research on the word beauty.

Definition of Beauty: the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (i.e. personality, spiritual qualities).

In the Bible (ESV), the word beautiful is used 74 times. Beautiful is used for describing certain women, architecture, God’s ways/will, and it is also the name of a gate at the temple mentioned in Acts. The word beauty is used once.

1 Peter 3:3-4 states, “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.”

Beauty is intrinsic. Not something outward, but inward; the spirit by which you are doing things and glorifying God! Peter is flat out telling us that the outward appearance has nothing to do with beauty, but it is the condition of the heart that brings satisfaction. In fact, God sees a beautiful spirit as PRECIOUS; something that is of high value, significant, and of great worth. So if the God who created the universe sees your heart as precious, isn’t that more important that what other people say?

The condition of the heart is a beauty that is imperishable; cannot be destroyed, eternal. The gospel can also bring forth something that is eternal—life in Jesus Christ. Our lives should be so closely knitted with God that when we are seen, an intrinsic beauty ought to draw people in—the beauty of the gospel in our lives.

We have been given imperishable beauty, it is something everyone can have, so we should share it with others. By doing that, we are giving God glory.