Finale: Proverbs 31

  “Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.” Proverbs 31:30-31

  So this is the last of Proverbs 31. I think I need to talk about beauty. I think I need to redefine my understanding of beauty.

  Beauty is subjective to the times and fashions of the day.

  The great Renaissance art master, Reuben, painted women with soft curves and rolls of flesh. The Mona Lisa is a rather plain woman adorning a small canvas but her mysterious smile has had generations wondering about her secret. Marilyn Monroe was a size 14. Then, in the sixties, came the supermodel Twiggy who was a cadaverous skin on bone. Now both men and women are expected to be muscular and fit to be considered beautiful.

  Art through the ages, right up to current beer commercials has taken the personality out of beauty. It has dehumanized the human form. It has objectified our bodies.

  Did you know that the great portrait painters altered their works to make their subjects more pleasing to the eye? They would strengthen a “weak” chin. They would make “small” eyes larger. They would basically perform plastic surgery with their brush. An airbrush does the same thing now. If you look at an ad closely enough you can tell where a line has been softened or a shadow accentuated. 

  It’s all about perceptions. "Beauty" sells.

  The number of people I know who obsess about their weight, who worship the god, Diet, is a symptom of how hard we try to be like the fictional beauties that bombard us every day. The diet supplement companies have done a wonderful job in selling the lie. .

  God, forgive me for judging others based on appearance because I know I do.

  I am taking the health side out of being overweight in this dialog because obesity is a valid health concern. I am viewing dieting from a shame perspective.

  Yes…shame. How many of us can look in a mirror and love what we see?

  How many of us can look in a mirror and see what Jesus sees?

  How many of us realize that our beauty is the light we carry? The ravages of time and gravity cannot dim it. It is the fear of the Lord, that childlike sense of awe and wonder and amazement that sets us aglow. It infuses us with a radiance that is almost blinding.

  I think, the next time I look in the mirror, I need to ask Jesus what He sees. I need to realize the lines of sorrow and life are a testimony of all He has brought me though.

  I need Him to help me love what I see.

  And I need to think of Jesus, whose initial depictions were of a rather plain and unassuming man. And by all written accounts, He was. It's only in latter years that the Son of God was depicted as physically perfect. Yet it is a perfection with a clear racial and prejudicial bias that created an image of a light skinned, golden eyed Christ.

  So even though we've made a mess of things like we do, there's hope. There's hope that our hearts and minds can be changed. 

  Lord, help me see true beauty. Help me see the beauty in others and in the mirror. 

 

  I know I said recently that I would examine the roles of husbands and wives next but I feel a great deal of reluctance to begin that particular study. Lord, where would You lead? Grant me the willingness to follow. In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!