If beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder what do I see when I “behold” myself in the mirror? Usually I see an older, slightly overweight, flawed individual whose gray roots are badly in need of a touch up. Most of us feel we fall short because we live in an airbrushed society obsessed with physical beauty. It’s bound to influence how we look at ourselves and how we look at others.
If you try to set someone up on a blind date the first thing he might ask is, “What does she look like?” You might say, “She’s nice, intelligent, well groomed, has a sense of humor, and just won the Nobel Peace Prize,” but they will still say, “Sure, but what does she look like?” Let’s face it, magazines don’t run issues of the 50 wittiest people in the world; it’s always the 50 sexiest men or 50 most beautiful women.
It’s true that beauty is subjective. Different people have various ideas about what they consider beautiful for beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately most of us “beholders” have been bombarded with digitally enhanced images through television, movies, and magazines. Media has determined what is beautiful and we have subliminally been programmed to buy their idea of beauty. To them the phrase “inner beauty” is just another way of saying “uggglllyyy!”
Although difficult, we need to think of beauty the same way God does. Nowhere do we see God using outward appearance to determine someone’s beauty. In fact he cautions us against using such criteria for judging another’s worth. When God’s prophet Samuel was looking for the next king of Israel among the sons of Jesse, he thought he’d found the right one. So much so that when he looked at Jesse’s son Eliab he said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” (1 Samuel 16:6)
However, God had other ideas. In I Samuel 16:7 God said, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.” In other words, it didn’t matter if this guy was one the 50 hunkiest men in the world and looked like he should be a king; God was looking for something else which he finally found in Eliab’s kid brother David – a lowly shepherd.
God went on to say, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Try telling that to People Magazine!
Perhaps we should start beholding beauty the same way God does. He’s not looking at a person’s shiny blonde hair, blemish free skin, slim hips, and new Prada shoes. He finds a heart full of the fruits of his spirit more appealing. (Galatians 5:22-23)
When we look for the beauty in others do we look for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control? When God beholds beauty he doesn’t look for something that is “skin-deep.” He goes much deeper – into a person’s very heart. Like Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen…they must be felt with the heart.” Great perception, don’t you think? Especially, since it came from a blind woman who knew how to behold the beauty all around her.
