Tell me what beauty really means.
I was listening to Mercy Me’s Beautiful from their new album called Mr. Lovewell. Here is the first verse and chorus:
Days will come when you don’t have the strength
And all you hear is you’re not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart
They’d see too much
You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You’re beautiful
There is something very powerful in these lyrics that speaks to my heart, and it made me think about the actual meaning of beauty. The World English Dictionary lists these two definitions:
- the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delights the senses and please the mind.
- a very attractive and well-formed girl or woman
What do you think of when you hear the word beautiful? Do you think of a fashion model, an actress, the popular girl in school, an NFL cheerleader, or something else? These are clearly things that the world would label “beautiful”, but they don’t come close to matching the first definition above.
Because I consider God to be the master artist, it made me pause and examine what he considers beautiful. Isaiah 52: 7 “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good news.” Jesus makes this reference to the woman that anoints his feet with oil, Mark 14: 6 “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” Romans 10: 15 “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.” Proverbs 31: 30 “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” I Peter 3: 4 “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”
The Bible paints a very different picture of beauty, doesn’t it? The world says that beauty is something that you are born with, lucky to have, and lacking if those around you do not admire your external appearance. Commercials, movies, sports, (and even some of my friends and me) give too much value to being attractive and well formed. From a young age we are persuaded to buy into this view, but look again at these few verses. The only reference to superficial beauty in this list (Proverbs 31:30) claims that it is vain. All the other references refer to an internal beauty, or an action that makes a person beautiful, even calling that type of beauty “imperishable”. Internal beauty will show through the façade and illuminate us with a spirit that will draw those interested in true beauty. I need reminded that beauty is really a reflection that radiates Christ (his love and his hope) to those around me everyday, and this is the type of beauty I try to incorporate into the characters I write about.
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