By Kyle Reber
Beauty is vain.
This is not to say that beauty is bad in itself, but this is an ever so important point to be made about beauty due to the fact of the image-driven world we live in. Pornography is on the rise and has been for decades; and now that it is a click of a button away we must gain wisdom to help us fight this battle.
1 Peter 3: 3-4 says: “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging of the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
Being the right person is more important than external beauty.
Samuel 16:7 says: “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 [b]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
God doesn’t care what you look like; He cares about the heart and so should we.
This is in the context of fearing his size in a battle, but the principle is the same.
There are many other passages about that and it’s encouraged to you to dig in to find them in your cross reference and notes. Godliness is always the most important thing to look for. No beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart. An attractive man/woman without discretion, virtue, repentant and contrite heart toward God, is like a gold ring in a pig snout. If you are drawn in to a marriage due to the sensuality toward the person’s looks, there’s a high chance you will live to regret it. We need to measure beauty by the internal virtues, not external appearance.
There are many people out there who are physically attractive but possess ugly hearts. There are many people who aren’t as physically attractive, but are very beautiful. Those who are beautiful inside one would never call ugly because it would be a disgrace toward them as a person (we should never call someone ugly anyway, but don’t miss the point of that).
Isn’t it funny how looks tend to fade, whether good or bad, when you know their hearts? We must have that mentality toward beauty and realize that in and of itself the external beauty is empty and vain.
We see women at the office in skirts crossing their legs toward us and our hearts cannot afford to be drawn in to that. Do not allow your mind to wander, and ask the Lord to erase any image or thought from your brain that is not godly. When the great-looking man comes in the room and you are dazzling over him, look at his heart and see if he is full of Christ or himself.
Of course not all good looking people are this way, but it’s only to make the point that we must look at the heart. If you find yourself drawn toward them, get to know them and you will be able to tell if they are truly beautiful. Getting to know people is not a sin; in fact, it can help you battle it!
Looks end up fading, but the heart matters most.
Get to know the hearts of people and rebuke the spirit that would cause you to be drawn in solely by their looks.
We do all of this (including getting married) to know Him more; anything else can be considered idolatry. We must make sure our hearts have the right motives. How many times does the Bible say something to the effect of “My people perish for their lack of knowledge” or “they do not know the Lord their God”? To know Him and live for Him should be our primary goal in everything we do (Philippians 3: 7-10).
