Posts
Tuesday, August 21
Do you know about Groupon? You probably do. It’s a website that offers a deal-of-the-day feature with a
paid, discounted gift certificate for a specific amount of service or product
redeemable at local or national companies. And when you sign up with them, they
will send you daily announcements for your locality.
I got one the other day that made me laugh out loud. In the
subject line was this...
Beauty Injections
Wow! Now, wouldn’t that be nice? We could all get shots and
be beautiful! {giggle}
Isn’t that what the world tells us? Look like this celebrity. Look like this model. Do this, do that to renew
your youth! Heaven forbid I should develop wrinkles or bulges!
That reminds me of a 1976 movie called Logan’s Run. It takes place in the year 2274, as the world has been
decimated by some kind of holocaust and the remnants of civilization now live
in a sealed, domed city, a utopia controlled by a master computer that manages
all aspects of their lives, including reproduction.
On the surface, all seems to be an idyllic society. These survivors live a mostly hedonistic lifestyle. With little work for them to perform, they are free to pursue a life of pleasure and self-gratification.
They have been told that in order to maintain the city,
every resident at the age of thirty must undergo the ceremony known as Carousel
with the promise of being renewed.
Actually, thirty was as old as they got. There was no
renewal. They just got zapped. Vaporized in the unknown.
The world elevates youthfulness and beauty with its pleasures
and self-gratification. It offers renewal of youth to the sagging, wrinkling,
and aging with its rituals of creams, lotions, hair dyes, lasers for all sorts
of things, operations to enlarge this or diminish that, liposuction, nose jobs,
weight loss, you name it! Oh, and, of course, don’t forget...beauty shots of
botox.
Have you ever seen those who have endured too many plastic
surgeries and other body modifications? They skin is so tight that, if they
smiled, their skin would rip? Or those who have had so many botox injections
that they have no facial expressions any more?
Some have gone to these extremes, being addicted to facial
or body “corrections” that they no longer look like themselves. Their desire is
to look like a real-life Barbie doll. And it’s not just women. Some men do it
as well.
There is no sin in wanting to look our best, to be pleasing
to our spouse or to others, by having some cosmetic surgery done. And of
course, sometimes, it is essential to have certain types of operations done. However,
there is a limit.
Where we get into trouble, where we lose our sense of self,
our self-worth and our self-respect, is in comparing ourselves with the physical
attributes of others. We begin to think negatively about our own outward
appearance.
But as Mom always said, “Beauty comes from within.” These
people agree...
Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical. ~ Sophia Loren
Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Beauty pleases the eyes only; sweetness of disposition charms the soul. ~ Voltaire
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
One of my favorite beauty quotes is by Audrey Hepburn...
For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.
Scripture tells us that “Our beauty should not come from
outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and
fine clothes. Instead, 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.
For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used
to make themselves beautiful.” (1 Peter 3:3-5 NIV)
The best injections
of beauty come from the Lord. He gives us beauty to replace our ashes. He gives
us the beauty of nature to infuse our souls. He gives us beauty from His Word.
His gives us the beauty of Himself, from being in His presence.
Your beauty comes from your soul, your heart. It is what you
are; it is what you do; it is what the Lord makes you.
Whoever you are reading this – man or woman – you are
beautiful! God doesn’t make ugly. Only man knows how to do that! You are a
delight to the Lord, just as you are.
So, how is your beauty-self-worth quotient today?
“Let the beauty of
the Lord our God be upon us.”
(Ps. 90:17 NKJV)
Hooking up with...
