What is beauty? Some say it is “only skin deep”. Others say it is “in the eye of the beholder”. While in some respects, both of these are true, I would submit that beauty has nothing to do with the skin. Here is SOME of the biblical teaching concerning beauty:
Beauty is a function of what is INSIDE a person. In other words, it is a matter of the heart. Jesus teaches us that what makes a person NOT beautiful (“what defiles”) is what comes out of them. In fact, he said that even when the evil surrounding a person won’t be able to defile them if they are truly living in obedience.
Mark 7:14-15 (also in Matthew 15:11)
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
Again, Jesus teaches in Luke that our appearance to others comes from inside. In this object lesson, he uses a frut tree as the metaphor. Jesus teaches here that beauty comes from what we have stored up in our heart. I’ll give you a little hint into how this works for a Christian: If Christ is in our heart (and he IS for the Christian), then it is HIS beauty and “good” that will come out of us. It is NOT our responsibility to “be good”, rather the “good” in us comes from HIM.
Luke 6:43-45
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Peter teaches the same lesson here teaching that PHYSICAL beauty tricks do not impress God. If we are to have the mind of Christ, doesn’t that mean that this should be true of us, too?
1 Peter 3:3-4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
In a nutshell, here it is. Your physical beauty, such that it is, will never last. Even if you carry it to the grave, it won’t take long for your physical body to become something much less than beautiful to behold. Living a life that shows your reverence for God, however, is something that is worthy of mention and praise.
Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Remember David, the little shepherd boy? His brothers certainly LOOKED more like a king. Here is God’s instruction to Samuel concerning HIS choice for king.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Beauty, as far as God teaches it, is about the condition of the heart. The condition of the heart will determine what comes out of a person and what comes out is what defines how beautiful a person REALLY is to God. There are many women in the world who possess a physical beauty that will cause men to turn their heads, but many of those are far from beautiful in any real way. It is difficult to see a person through God’s eyes, but if we work on it, we can learn to do so.
I will leave you with a few verses below without further commentary on them.
2 Corinthians 4:16
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self his being renewed day by day.
1 Peter 3:4-6
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. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
Psalms 34:5
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
Proverbs 3:15
She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Proverbs 20:29
The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
Song of Solomon 4:7
You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.
Ezekiel 28:17
Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matthew 23:27
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and pall uncleanness.”
John 7:24
Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Psalms 139:14
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Colossians 3:12
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
1 Thessalonians 5:5
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
1 John 3:1
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that bit did not know him.
Beauty is MUCH more than a skin deep test. We are loved by God NOT because of how we LOOK, but because of the condition of our heart. The bible teaches that the “default” condition of our heart is VERY ugly and dead as a result of sin. Jesus death and resurrection provides what is necessary to allow US to be revived and restored to life, which allows US to become a think of beauty in the eyes of God as well. You are his masterpiece according to Paul. We are the children of the King and Creator of the Universe, by whom ALL things were made and in whose image we were created. He is beautiful beyond all reckoning and YOU are created in that image. Be beautiful by allowing the love that he has placed IN you to flow OUT of you.