Now seems to be the time of year when people are frantically working to get them self into beach body shape. Since I've been working out at my gym for the past 9 months, I've noticed this gradual increase in members within the last month or so. I assume this sudden increase in the popularity of the gym is due in large part to the fact that swimming suits are starting to come out of the closets. And I must confess, I'm glad I have had my nine month head start this year. There's no doubt I started my new health kick just so I could be healthier, happier, and God willing, be around to watch my children become adults. But I also can not deny my desire to have a healthy looking body, and I wonder if it's my vanity that's truly motivating my discipline. I would venture to say that everybody has this curse that is vanity. And indeed it is a curse! But is the look we all strive for a look that is truly "perfect", or just our "perception of perfection"? What I mean by that is, where is this standard of "beauty" established? I looked up the definition of "beauty" just now and found:
1. the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delight the senses and mind
2. a very attractive woman
That's a pretty broad definition (no pun intended). So as I watch all these people (myself included) striving to be recognized as one of the beautiful people, I'm trying to imagine what a world would be like without a "standard" of beauty. I guess I'm trying to imagine Heaven.
Donald Miller wrote a couple of my favorite books: "Blue Like Jazz" and "Searching For God Knows What". If you're looking for reasons why Jesus Christ is relevant to someone living in today society, and you don't see the answers in the typical routines of Sunday morning and Wednesday night church, then I would encourage you to read Donald Miller's books. He helped to start my journey of knowing Jesus the way God wants me to know Jesus, without the barriers (in my mind) of the man made traditions and rituals. I bring up Miller because in one of these books he talks about this idol that is "beauty." But in typical Miller fashion, he looks at the situation from a different perspective. He paints this scenario of a circus show where the main attractions are the people who normally would be outcasts. In fact it's their lack of appeal that makes this circus show so appealing. There's the world's tallest lady, the world's smallest man, the bearded lady, the man with three arms, the 200 lbs. 8 year old..you get the picture. Miller portrays this group as a typical group of people who work together, just like any other group of peers. But he adds to this already established group, a new "circus freak" that begins to steal the show. Let's say the new member has webbed hands and breaths with gills (I can't remember the details of his story). Miller goes on to describe the jealousy and envy the other performers begin to have as this new member is getting all the attention...all the love. They all begin wishing they had the webbed hands and gills. So it doesn't take long for the reader to realize it's not "beauty" we're after, but the attention that comes with "beauty." If having webbed hands and gills brought us love and affirmation, then webbed hands and gills would be our desire. Miller took this whole worldly perception of beauty and identified it for what it actually is: a disconnect from our original source of love and affirmation, a disconnect from God.
So we are definitely cursed in this world of ours, and we will continue to try and cover these "wounds" with band-aids. But maybe we should try and think of each pound of fat, each wrinkle, each gray hair, and the ever growing bald spot as God's gentle reminder that He's drawing us to Him. Drawing us to the place where "beauty" doesn't bring us love, but rather, where the "Love" is the only beauty we need!
BEAUTY = 1. the combination of all the qualities... that delight the senses and mind
1 comment:
When I think of BEAUTY I'm reminded that beauty also lies in the eyes of the beholder.
All of us who know little Nathan know that he will tell most of the females in his little world how pretty they are. A couple of weeks ago he looked at me and said, You're beautiful. My first thought was, "Only in Your Eyes" and I was wondering what he was thinking. We all laughed because that was the first time we had heard him use the word beautiful. But as his little hand pats your face and he tells you how special you are, you know that it's got to be coming from the love he has i nhis heart since he just turned four.
I think the love we have for others brings out just how beautiful the people in our lives are.
Just another way of looking at beauty.
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