
I have recently been thinking a lot about our culture and how much of a preoccupation we have with external appearance and fitting into a very specific set of expectations without much room for deviation. Seeing the far reaching downward spiral of this pushed mentality is eye-opening and disturbing because it reaches into our inmost being and attacks the very core of who God has called us to be. With images of naked beauties covering the pages of nearly every magazine on the shelves lining the checkout counter, or pictures condemning the hint of cellulite, wrinkles, or gray hair, it is nearly impossible to escape this endless barrage of lies that are constantly thrown our way.
One of the side effects for this type of unending imagery is our inability to know what true beauty looks like. We are always seeing the “fantasy” or the “lie” presented as truth, but instead of recognizing these things for what they are, we turn around and question the reality; “Should my body look this way?” “Should my hair be turning this color?” “Should my face be changing like this?” The distortion of our beliefs has led to unhealthy remedies to counter the lies, while nursing the pains caused so deep within. We turn to things of this world for healing, whether it is food, pornography, sexual encounters, fantasy, rigid control, etc, and all end with us continuing to walk the downward spiral of disintegration until we are left in a heap on the floor, feeling hopeless and damned. C.S. Lewis wrote it masterfully in “The Screwtape Letters” when he wrote:
“Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s (God’s) ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it’s better style. To get the man’s soul and give him nothing in return- that is what really gladdens our Father’s (Satan’s) heart.” [Lewis, C.S., “The Screwtape Letters,” IX]
We are having our joy stolen from us because of a twisted and evil enemy that wishes for us to remain pitted in the depths of our despair. He does not want us to experience freedom. He does not want us to experience the feeling of being loved and valued. Satan wants us to believe the lies that he has warped into the mind of the media. And he wants us to stay there and never get up.
But, our God is a redeeming God. He will not leave us in the valleys, but always continues to push us forward to the relief of the mountaintops to see the beautiful view. He counters the lies of the enemy with Truth and the truth shall set you free! Our God shouts our value to Him from the Heavens, spreading His message throughout His Word; “All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you,” (Song of Solomon 4:7). He pours Himself into our hearts and into our lives that we “…being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (emph. mine),” (Ephesians 3:18-19). Only when we really cleave to this Truth, lining up all thoughts and actions to this core belief, will we be in a position to experience Godly victory over the Enemy’s ploys. We are to be “rooted and established in love,” not questioning and doubtful of God’s eternal love for us and extreme value for each of us. We are to “be filled” with this love and, therefore, experience “all the fullness of God!” When we are full of God, we cease the endless search for being defined by anything else. Our world wants to put a label on each of us, as fat, thin, pretty, ugly, smart, stupid, etc, all based on the values that have been set by an evil being of the underworld. In all truth, these do not hold up to the scrutiny of God, as He searches the heart to determine where we are with Him. Our true beauty comes from within, as the “unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight,” (1 Peter 3:4). The buck stops with God, and it is only in Him that we can get an accurate understanding of who we are, for what we were created, and what we are called to do. If the foundation of our being, our self-identity, is not founded and centered upon His Word, we are like the “foolish man who built his house on sand,” (Matthew 7:26). You are beautiful. You are wonderfully made. You are lovely and valuable. You are of great worth! You are deserving of love. You are a child of God, co-heir with Christ, and, therefore, considered royalty.
So, what does this mean for our lives? Well, if we are worth more than rubies, and loved beyond measure, than our treatment of ourselves, whether in thought or deed, must reflect that high position of value! We are not our own; we were bought at a price (1 Cor. 6: 19-20). We must treat our bodies as we would treat something on loan from a King, for that is exactly what we are. Would we feed royalty mediocre food, ill-prepared and malnutritious? Would we expect royalty to be sluggish and dilapidated in form, or strong and capable? Or would we feed someone of high esteem the very best, prepared with attention and knowledge of nutritious benefit, and praise the sight of them keeping healthy with physical activity to meet their demands? Not everyone needs to have a six-pack, but we should all seek to maintain healthy lifestyles, eating healthy foods, and getting daily activity into our days. We should not all look the same, but we should all feel lively, energetic, and full of vitality. God created food for energy, to fuel our bodies and make us capable to live to the fullest each day. He provided activities to strengthen our bodies, work out our minds, and challenge us to push ourselves to the next level, whether that be in lifting weights, gardening, skiing, dancing, etc. We are of great worth, and our lives should reflect this internal value system, created and placed there by God Himself; not one of pride or conceit, but humility, honor, and love of our Father. May your thoughts and actions be held to the standard of our Lord, carrying you through each day, and bringing you to fulfillment in Him.
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