WHAT’S REAL & WHAT’S NOT.

Ladies, let’s be honest. Our culture gets it way wrong. I was with a dear friend of mine the other week. She is quite a bit older than I am. We stopped into Target and she picked up a watch. It was a lime green plastic watch that went on like a slap bracelet. $10. She put it on once we got in the car. I said something like, “Oh that’s cute!” She said “Thanks! I thought it was fun.” As we drove along, she started to question her purchase. “Does it look okay with this outfit?” “It’s not too loud, is it?” “Does it look like I’m trying to be 15?” “Maybe I’ll just stick it in my purse.” After a little convincing that it was cute and fine for her to wear, she pulled down the visor to check her lipstick. “I just look old. And there’s nothing I can do about it. My makeup doesn’t even help. It’s so hard to look good when you’re old.”

Why?! You’re beautiful! Our culture screams at women so loudly that we are supposed to look a certain way. That we should try to prevent aging. Or even when we’re young that we have to have this perfect body and this perfect hair.

And really I’m no different from my friend. Even though I’m young, I’m constantly wanting my hair to be different, checking the number on the scale, worried about my clothes fitting and looking just right.

So, are we just trapped in this cultural spiral, where there’s always something about ourselves to fix, and we’re never content with how we look?

Absolutely not! As followers of Jesus, we are to influence our culture with the TRUTH, not conform to it, and certainly not believe its lies. The truth is that beauty comes from a life that looks like Jesus. Outward beauty does not last and is judged by a temporal, ever-changing standard. True beauty never fades and is judged by an eternal, unchanging standard.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30

Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:4

Ladies, don’t believe lies. Be transformed by the truth and transform our culture with the truth. These lies lead to insecurity, pride, and a whole host of sin. The truth leads us to Jesus every time. Let’s believe who He says we are and let’s give Him the full freedom He deserves to do His work in our hearts.

I have two amazing daughters. Yes, they are beautiful. I want them so desperately to grow up to understand the truth about beauty and who they are. I want their confidence and their identity to come from Christ alone – the only one who can truly deliver and the only solid ground for their precious feet.