Let me just state the obvious for a second. When given the choice, I think all of us would admit that it's much more logical to choose something that is guaranteed to last as opposed to something that is guaranteed to break. But honestly, in the case of beauty, I am much more inclined to spend my time trying to make something that will break into something that will last. You may remember me sharing about one facet of this long time struggle in The Cost of Beauty - Not Worth Your Soul. As I'm sure is true of many of you, the struggle hasn't gone away...
This past month alone has included: an intense allergy attack that literally made it look like I had been punched in both eyes, a number of bad hair days in which my rebellious locks refused to do anything cooperative, several smudged nails in the midst of an attempt to give myself a perfect manicure, and last but not least, a red bump on my forehead caused by a head on collision with a flying iPhone.
It's not like these things were earth shattering occurrences. But at every step of the way, I found myself getting annoyed with these little hindrances to my preferred physical appearance and thought to myself, "Is it really so much to ask to have my hair look cute today?" or "All I want is for my stupid nails to just turn out nicely for once!" And as I focused more and more intently on fixing each glaring flaw, I couldn't help but think, "God is answering my prayer to take away my idols by burning my bridges down."
Quite honestly though, most of the time, I would really just prefer if God simply granted my wish for external beauty without challenging my tendency to worship outward appearance. In other words, I would rather have Him let me be satisfied with beauty that fades than have Him teach me about beauty that does not. Because if He teaches me about beauty that lasts, then that will probably include suffering, as has been the case in my month of beauty fails, and maybe even worse...
How do I know that?
Mostly because of what I've been recently reminded of in 1 Peter:
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:3-9)
At the beginning of his letter, Peter takes time in verse 3 to remind His audience that because of what Jesus has accomplished through His death and resurrection, Jesus is now eternally alive, and He is their hope! He then goes on in verse 4 to tell them that part of this hope is the lasting inheritance or treasure that's in store for them in heaven. But Peter is sensitive to the fact that these people have truly been suffering, so though he recognizes they have many reasons to rejoice in what Jesus has done for them in verse 6, Peter doesn't want to ignore the difficult things they have been going through. So in verse 7, he graciously reminds them that though these trials have grieved them, the result is that these temporary hardships are shaping their faith into something that is increasingly precious and genuine.
I think that's encouraging even just in and of itself.
But what's even more interesting is the similar way that Peter talks to women about beauty in chapter 3 of that same letter.
"3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 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. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening." (1 Peter 3:3-6)
Notice the words that I italicized in both chapters 1 and 3. Peter uses the same word to describe the inheritance in 1:4 as he uses to describe the beauty he wants women to cultivate in 3:4 - imperishable. Not only that, but he also uses the same word to characterize their faith in 1:7 as he does when he refers again to the internal beauty of the heart in 3:4 - precious. And the word hope is used in both passages - referring to a living hope in 1:3 and hope in God in 3:5.
It's as if Peter is saying, "I know that the things you can see - like your outward circumstances and the way you look- might seem really important, but actually, the things that are unseen - like your faith and the beauty of your heart - are the things that truly have lasting value. So if you put your hope in God, instead of all the externals, you are choosing to focus on something that does not fade. Your faith grows and becomes more precious - more beautiful - because you are choosing to put your hope in something that will stay intact forever."
Now don't get me wrong. I'm all about celebrating external beauty in a way that gives glory to God for creating us in His image. But what I don't want to be about is celebrating it in a way that turns what's meant to be used to worship our Creator into a way to worship self, since that's surely the very pride and self-centeredness that God is opposing in me when He brings these continual beauty fails into my life.
So when all of my efforts to cultivate outward beauty fail me, it is God's gracious reminder that nothing else can be my living hope except for Jesus. It's His way of fighting for my heart, as He calls me to turn to Him in humble repentance and reminds me of the lasting inheritance in store for me in heaven. Instead of allowing me to foolishly set my heart on beauty that will fade, He wants to cultivate real, unfading, and imperishable beauty within my soul through His Spirit at work inside me. And He won't give up til all this bridge burning is done and He sees me in glory.
Even when His goodness and pursuant love is annoying, Loving Him is Red!
How has the Lord been teaching you about things that have lasting value versus things that fade?
And...just for fun! In case you want some music to think about, check out this amazing cover of Royals by Pentatonix that I've been listening to on repeat. It's a song that exposes part of the trouble of putting hope in externals, but really only offers the solution of an imaginary world instead of true hope.
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