My mom babysits for a little girl who just turned three last month. About six months ago, she was going
around telling everyone "I'm gorgeous." (I think her grandpa
had told her this.) Like many little girls, she loves to dress in pink.
She likes dresses that make her look pretty, and she knows that people
think she's cute. She likes to look pretty, but she doesn't need those
clothes or pigtails to say "I'm gorgeous." She just says it.
She already knows it.
When do we (girls) lose this mentality? My fiancé asked me this
the other day. So many girls today think they have to look like that
super model in the magazine. We think we have to look just right or
change our bodies because we couldn't possible be beautiful enough to be loved
by someone. And it’s true this is what leads to many eating disorders in
our country, but there are many girls without eating disorders. What about the girls who go about their
everyday lives and show no outside sign of worry about their looks, but on the
inside that's something they worry about…a lot? Girls, think about it. We constantly measure our looks and
compare them to the other women in our lives.
My fiancé works at a radio station, and the other day he and his co-host
were talking about a study they had read about that talked about girls’s
perceptions of themselves. I don't remember the statistics, but it
pointed out how many girls thought of themselves as average and how few thought
of themselves as attractive. It said that a fairly high percentage of
girls couldn't name one feature they liked or thought was beautiful on/in
themselves. It got me thinking about how I would rate myself. What
would I name as my most beautiful feature? To be honest some of the
questions were hard. Even as a Christian girl who knows I'm beautiful
because "I am fearfully and
wonderfully made," Psalm 139:14 I wasn't sure of myself.
Recently I learned that...In an effort to be humble, many girls put
themselves down. We're say we’re not good at this or that, because by
doing this we avoid looking conceited and vain. In reality though, this
is the opposite of being humble. It is just the other end of the spectrum
from pride. Pride is saying how good we are. Putting ourselves down
is saying how bad we are. They are both "I" focused. We
are not called to be "I" focused, but to be "others" and
"Christ" focused. Not to
mention that the more we say these things, the more we start to believe them.
So first, Jesus not only thinks you’re beautiful; he thinks you’re more
than that. You are gorgeous and
precious in his sight. “The king is
enthralled by you beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.” Psalm 45:11 God
formed you and knows the number or hairs on your head. Do me a favor and find at least one
feature on your body that you think is beautiful. But second, just don’t put yourself down. By doing so, you are only thinking of
yourself, and honestly, it’s not about you. This life is about spreading the good news and pointing
people to Jesus.
