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| BETH CHAI MINISTRIES |
| House of Life |
At the center of every happy home...There is a Godly Woman |
PART I Beauty. Every woman wants to be beautiful. We not only want men to find us attractive, but also other women. Not in the sense of lesbian feelings, but most women want other women to recognize their attractiveness. There is not a day that goes by that I haven't either been complimented by another woman, or given a compliment to another woman. It could be on clothing, appearance or weight related issues. It is almost as though we feel obligated to find something wonderful to say to one another. Now this is either coming from 1) Sincerity 2) Hidden insecurity 3) The need to support other women, or a combination of the three. Let's work backwards and deal with the notion of support. I will admit that women do not get a lot of compliments and emotional support from husbands, fathers and even brothers. And when we do receive a "compliment from a man outside our family circle, it is usually loaded with sexual meaning. In our society, a woman that is not considered the standard "attractiveness" that society has given, often times, will go her entire life without receiving one compliment about her appearance. This, in my opinion, makes women very desperate for attention. Since most women are aware of this longing for attention, we often feel the need to render each other compliments. It's like a secret sisterhood thing. The case of hidden insecurity is something most of us might not recognize as a reason for giving a compliment. We may argue that how can someone say something to another person that will undoubtedly give them focus, when inside we really want the focus to be on us. Well, just give the credit to your mind. By now, if you are a person with any amount of wisdom, you know that we can't trust our thoughts. It is a place where we turn our emotions into facts thereby leaving us to make decisions that our based on unsubstantiated information. In other words, we go around believing a self-produced lie based on our emotions. So when we are feeling insecure, we simply tell ourselves that by complimenting someone else, we will begin to feel better about our own condition. Or maybe we hope to receive a compliment in return. Plus we will have the advantage of hopefully convincing the other woman, that we are confident and therefore, "NOT JEALOUS" of her. Oh yeah, woman are always in a battle with jealousy. However, there are times when a compliment is sincerely given. This usually occurs when a woman has a honest friendship or love (non-sexual) for another woman. She will speak from her heart without attached strings or hidden agendas. But what does God say about real beauty. Psalm 139:14 says, I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Here is the problem. Most women use for world's standards to define beauty. But "the world" is always changing it's definitions of right and wrong, good and bad, beauty and ugliness. Remember back in the 60's when the ideal super model was a woman named twiggy. From then on, it's has put pressure on women to look a certain way. If you don't think women are obsessed with looking beautiful, just Google the word "beauty" and then click on (images) and just see what comes up. Pages and pages of women trying to look appealing. But if you take your definition from the Word of God, then no matter what the current trend is, you will feel secure and grounded in your appearance. Proverbs 31:31 says, Favour is deceitfully, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. How many times have we heard women demand to be appreciated for more than their body. But most of the women who say that probably should dressed a little more modestly. Beauty is VAIN. Someone will always think that someone else is more attractive than you. So stop trying to get the whole world to admire you. It is amazing that we spend more time trying to impress other people rather than pleasing God. (Of course, new agers will say, don't please others, please yourself) But beware, pleasing yourself leads to selfishness, and this will create a world that is not pleasing to be in. I Peter 3:3-4 says, Whose adorning let it not be that outward adoring of plaiting the hair, and wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel: (4) But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible , even the ornament of the meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Some of us work so hard on the outside, that we forget about our filthy mouths that are full of cursing, gossip and negativity. Remember, when you get dressed today, put on kindness, joy meekness and compassion. Revelation 4 :11 says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Looking for the reason you were born? There it is. First and foremost, we were created for God's pleasure. That being the case, let's make sure we are doing that which is pleasing to the Lord. |
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| BEAUTY ??????? |