Inner Beauty
There’s a poem from the Renaissance period called The Fairie Queene by Edmund Spenser. In it, the hero is entranced by the incredible beauty of a woman called Duessa. Duessa represents deceit and falsehood in the story, and her allure is a trap. She is beautiful to look at, but that’s all. In the end, she is ‘disrobed’ and her outward beauty is stripped away so that she revealed for who she is – a wretched, horrible witch.
We all know the saying that ‘beauty is only skin deep,’ but we live in a culture that seems to reinforce the idea that that’s all that matters anyway. But this is not what God says to us. Another way He wants to free us from an unhelpful focus on our outward appearance is to grow our understanding of true and lasting beauty, and to focus on cultivating this. Real and enduring beauty according to God has everything to do with who we are.
“What matters is not your outer appearance – the styling of your hair, the jewellery you wear, the cut of your clothes – but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in” 1 Pet. 3:3-4.
If we think for a moment about these two types of beauty – outer appearance and inner disposition – one makes an impression for a moment; the other that comes through in a woman’s words, expressions, actions and character. One is fleeting; the other leaves a lasting imprint on the lives of those it touches.
There’s one thing I find really interesting about the women who appear in the Bible. Although their physical beauty is mentioned, that is not the beauty that is influential about them. It’s the beauty of who these women are and what they do that’s most noteworthy about them. Think of Esther or Abigail – each of these women is described as beautiful but it is the beauty of their humility before God, their faithfulness to Him and their courage that make them remarkable.
One last point is have you ever noticed the way that people with a really close relationship with Jesus often emanate a kind of radiance from within that is very beautiful? There’s this wonderful psalm about this that says, “they looked to Him and were radiant” Psalm 34:5. My friend, Jill, actually pointed out to me that a different word for “beautiful” is used in Hebrew for people in the Bible who have this kind of radiance and beauty. Instead of toar which refers to beautiful “form” the word yapheh is used, which refers to beauty of “countenance” – King David and Abigail are described as having this kind of beauty.
I love the way Jill describes yapheh as “a countenance when person invests in their inner person. It is very attractive to the eye.” Regarding the glory of God radiating in a person’s face and body, she also made the great point that it is “a beauty that cannot be grasped, copied or even created by surgeons. It draws people to you, or away in shame and does not get less with age! The best beauty treatment for a woman is a few hours in the presence of God.”
* If you would like to leave a comment, but are not able to click on the title of this post to bring up the comment box, please click on this instead – http://birgitwhelan.com/2009/05/22/inner-beauty/
My daughter was just talking about Esther and Abigail in terms of God’s redemptive power and now I see their names again here… I think I need to review their stories again.
Thanks for your encouragement!
Blessings,
Mary
Hi Birgit, I loved the last sentence- because God really is all the beauty that we have. I was thinking about how Adam and Eve were ashamed when they discovered they were naked and I think we still carry that around with us. When we look inwardly and see how broken and messed up we are, we want to cover it up. And probably the only way we know how is to make the outside appear all beautiful and shiny, in the hope that no-one will notice the inside.
I was thinking how the wonderful scriptures that you mentioned in your previous post are true both for our insides and our outsides but how we may often only accept parts of it, like ‘yes I’m fearfully and wonderfully made BUT I can still improve on..’ or yes God made me, BUT I’m so messed up inside, or yes God saved me and made me new BUT… and we keep thinking we need to fix ourselves and we really don’t like what we see inside.
“The best beauty treatment for a woman is a few hours in the presence of God”. Amen, and may we learn as we spend time there, who He made us to be.
Thanks for doing this series Birgit, it has challenged and encouraged me. God bless you:)
Amen.
This brought to mind the type heart God loves to see:
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
It’s so contrary to the way we think…humility, no pride whatsoever…hmmm…
Hi Mary, that’s so great you feel motivated to read over the stories of Esther and Abigail again. The quality that I find so inspirational about these women, is their courage. The way they honoured God, no matter the cost. I hope your study goes well, blessings to you
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Hi Rain, yes, I have wondered the same thing – whether our focus on the outside is in some way an attempt to take the focus away from the brokenness and messiness so many of us see on the inside. Not just physical appearance either, but creating a general image of having it “altogether.” It can be so hard letting the guard down sometimes. I take such comfort knowing that God sees it all, every bit of the messiness, and still loves beyond measure. That day by day He brings a little more of His grace, restoration and light into my life. He is so good.
Yeah, I know what you mean about “adding” things to His Word, and the way this can take away from the freedom we feel as we try to receive it. But then, I really love those times where the Holy Spirit brings the Word alive in your heart in a really powerful way, so that it settles there, and you feel such peace
Love you, Rain, will email soon, so happy you’re enjoying this series
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Such a beautiful point Michelle. Such a good reminder of what counts as most beautiful, humility and meekness before Him.
Hope you’re well friend, love to you xo
I can’t remember a time when I ever felt beautiful on the outside, but there are days when I just know in my knower that I am radiant from the inside outward. Hey look, I can leave comments now!! Amen. Nice to be able to post my thoughts.
Birgit, you are beautiful in every way.
YAY! How lovely to see you again Hope, I’ve missed you
I’m so glad you’re able to leave comments again, we finally figured out what the problem was which I’ll email you about, but the good news it seems to be all sorted now!
I love the way you described those days where you walk in the knowledge of how beautiful you are from the inside out. Even before meeting you in person, I can see that beauty in your heart for Jesus, the insights on your blog, and in your caring heart for others