Biblical Beauty: Beauty's Purpose and Conflicting Views

In the beginning....
     To understand the purpose of beauty we need to go back to the very beginning. Not just because that is a very good place to start, but also because in the opening chapter of Genesis we get a glimpse of God's original intent and design for beauty.

A Gift From God

     So God created man in his own image, in the image of God 

he created him; male and female he created them...And God saw 

everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. 

Genesis 1:27, 31

     While this might catch you by surprise, God created the world with beauty.   Believe it or not, physical beauty wasn't an idea that we came up with on our own but something that God created and something that after creating, He called 'good'.  It was pleasing to Him.  Physical beauty is a gift from God and it is a good thing, when stewarded properly. 

      One of the wonderful truths about beauty is that it is a characteristic that God has given unto man that reflects who He is!  Often times God called His people, Israel, beautiful. (Ezekiel 16, Isaiah 60:9) He adorned them as His chosen people. Their beauty was not something they had because of themselves but something God had made them to be. The purpose of this beauty was to make God look great, to bring the attention back to Himself.

       Because beauty is a gift, it is not something that we should be proud of or flaunt.  Although God adorned Israel with great beauty, this blessing got to their heads. In Ezekiel 28:17 we see that: "Your heart was proud because of your beauty."  For this reason, Israel forsook God and prostituted themselves to other gods.  When we become proud of our beauty and turn it into a tool to be used, instead of a gift to be enjoyed, we run the risk of prostituting ourselves to this world.

      However, physical beauty is not a bad thing.  Our sin often takes the good gifts that God has given us and distorts them for our own, fleshly purposes.  However, as the blood bought daughters of Christ, we do not have to submit ourselves to the world's pattern which takes beauty and drags it through the filth pools of sensuality and seductive flirtation.  Through God's enabling grace and strength we have the ability to take the gift of beauty and steward it in a way that adorns the gospel and brings glory and honor to Christ.  That is why we need to understand the purpose of beauty.

Beauty's Purpose

            My dad likes to tease that when Adam first saw Eve, his mouth dropped open he and exclaimed, "Whoa Man!" therefore explaining how we got the term, woman.  Now while this might not have been the case, I do think his little joke illustrates an important point. Beauty provides attraction.  While God made both man and woman, He made them differently. Each has a different role and each have different desires. God has created men to visually desire beauty and woman to be beautiful. Each one needs the other.

     If you peak into the book of Song of Solomon you will quickly find that beauty is pasted all over the book!  It occurs 15 times in eight short chapters.  Beauty is a wonderful blessing that God has created to be enjoyed in the context of marriage between a husband and wife.  Beauty is a gift that God has given to us. As young women, it is our job to steward that gift so that one day we might be able to present it to our husbands without it having been defiled, destroyed or commandeered.

     While beauty does provide attraction, it also serves another purpose, a God-given purpose.  God is a God of order and beauty.  Throughout scripture we see God adorning creation, Israel and even the temple in such a way that reflects His character.   As God's female creation,  God has adorned us with beauty.  By stewarding this area of our lives, we have the opportunity to reflect God's beauty.  Our femininity represents God in a way our male counterparts cannot.  Men cannot fully display the image of God - nor can women do so alone.  The strength of men and the beauty of women, along with many other characteristics, display God's image grafted in mankind.  When we take this gift that God has given us and dress, act and live in a way that enhances our natural beauty instead of taking away from it, we can draw the attention of those around us to the Giver of beauty.  Our beauty can bring glory to our Creator!
     Part of stewarding the beauty that God has given us is maintaining it.  I am pretty sure that Eve probably did not need to wear make-up.  However, since the fall and sin, things have been heading a little down hill.  There is a level of maintenance that must be done to our bodies to enhance the beauty that God has given us. Wearing make-up with discretion, dressing in a way that is modest yet stylish, and making efforts to maintain our natural beauty are all God honoring ways of stewarding our beauty in such a way that reflects order, beauty, and elegance.

Where is the Joy?

   We have two ends of the spectrum when it comes to the adornment of our physical beauty. First we have the side of unchaste adorning.  This would be the model laid out by the world around us.  Flaunting, flirting, sensual adornment and behavior would all fall under this category.  On the other side of the equation, we have those who would avoid enhancing natural beauty.  This side is characterized most frequently by long skirts, long hair, no make-up and no effort to adorn the physical body.  They adopt a negative perspective toward beautifying the body.  Part of the reason for this is the idea that beauty is a bad thing.  Personally, I think this thinking comes from a confusion between sensuality and real beauty. (Check out my previous article.)  As Paul Washer said, "God is not against beauty, He is against sensuality."   There are two sides, but one problem.  Where is the joy?
   

     There are two things that greatly grieve my heart concerning beauty.  The first is to see a young girl so caught up in striving after beauty that it takes over her life.  She has no joy because she is never able to achieve the desired standard of perfection but still lives in enslavement to beauty in her desire to satisfy her soul. The world's beauty brings death. Death to joy, fulfillment, and eventually, it kills all real beauty and settles simply for sensuality.
     The second thing I grieve greatly is seeing the absence of joy that comes a young woman is enslaved to dressing modestly.  Instead of submitting to the joy-giving authority of Christ, rules and regulations found outside of scripture, take away the freedom that we have when we are in Him. Please watch the video below for an example of that I am talking about. (Start at 42:20-44:00 for the segment.  The whole thing is great if you want to listen to it all:)

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of 

righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

Romans 14:17

     Whenever we submit ourselves to rules and regulations that are not found in scripture we run the risk of placing our hope in a form of godliness that is not founded in Christ.  Through scripture we have been instructed to dress modestly in a way that does not draw attention to ourselves and adorns the gospel of Christ.  We have not been called to wear skirts, have long hair and never ware make-up.  There is a great danger in exalting and participating in regulations that are not based in scripture for the purpose of furthering our righteousness or holiness.  Our righteousness and holiness must be completely found in Him and in obedience to His revealed Word. Obedience to any other law other than the law of the Spirit of life will result in an absence of joy.  In Christ alone we must find our righteousness, fulfillment, and joy.

   

The Beauty of Balance

 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. 

“All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

1 Corinthians 6:12

     True beauty is rooted in balance.  While it is easy to go along with the world, it is difficult to follow the guideline of dressing with "modesty and self-control." (1 Timothy 2:9)  However, I believe it is just as easy to follow a set of rules and allow our decisions and actions to be dominated by those.  What is more difficult is to find balance between the two and submit ourselves to God's authority.   Allowing each area of our lives to continually and constantly be ruled by Christ, may we find the passion we need to be slaves to Him and the joyful  freedom that can be found in Him! Through His enable strength and grace alone, can this be accomplished.

*Have questions about beauty?  Leave them below in the comments section and I would love to answer them in my upcoming blog post, Biblical Beauty Q & A!