And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.
-- 1 Timothy 2: 9-10
Goodness... Where to start? Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning ... There's no better place, right?
I read this passage a couple of days ago and it struck me. This is not the first time that I heard this, but reading it just brought a different meaning and it came out of no where. This is for mainly any women who are struggling with decisions to make on how their appearance looks. Yeah, being attractive. It is so hard because there is so much pressure for women to be beautiful and attractive. It seems the only way to be attractive is how a woman dresses herself.
Confession:
If you do not know me, you might be surprised with what I am about to say. If you do, I guess you can make up your mind on how you will react.
There was something that I have always wanted. It was not to impress people, I just wanted it because it was cool and I liked it. What better reason is that? Well, that's just what I told people. You see what I wanted was a bellybutton piercing. I remember a few years back when I went on a cruise. Almost half of the women I saw had bellybutton rings. I felt weird because I did not have one. Besides I didn't see any wrong in wanting one because I did not want to have more ear piercings, I just wanted one, on a different area of my body. All of my life, people have told me how innocent I am. I know that is a good thing, but many times I do not want to look innocent. I knew that if I got pierced, people would see me differently, not just as an innocent little girl. I asked people who I was close to what they thought about it. Some said no, some said yes. I did not care what anyone else thought, I just wanted one despite what they said.
Here's how I changed my mind:
Now if you are sitting here thinking that bellybutton piercings never really crossed your mind or you just totally hate them, why don't you relate it to yourself? Maybe it's a tattoo, name brand clothes, or a nose ring. Maybe it's something you do to make yourself look good. Maybe it's smoking, drinking, or partying like a rock star. Ha... yeah.
If I wore a bellybutton ring, people would look at it. They would look at my appearance. They would think about my appearance. No where, no way would they see Christ living through me. You see, I want people to see Christ through me. I do not want in anyway for them to be distracted by my appearance and take their eyes away from what I am trying to offer, which is the love of Christ. In a way, by getting a bellybutton ring, it would exalt my body rather than what is on the inside, my personality and faith. Is that what I want?
Paul says, "For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do."
I must admit, I have fallen into this many times. Those wonderful summer days when wearing too short of a skirt or too tight of any type of clothing was normal for me. It was fun and easy way for eyes to be all on me. Yeah, I know the feeling.
I have come to a realization that if people only looked at me when I was looking good, it was for nothing. Because those types of people only care about what I looked like. They never actually had any in depth conversation with me or ever took the time to really get to know the real me.
What are your wants and desires? What is your passion? What do you dream of? What makes you smile? What makes you cry? I challenge you to actually get to know the people around you. Those that you are close to, get closer. There is only one life to live and it is not guaranteed. Make the most of people around you, by getting to know them and showing them the love of Christ that is in you, rather than your bellybutton ring. (Yeah, I'm talking to myself ). In doing so, you'll find the uncommon beauty of those who have learned the secret of being attractive for a life time.
P.S. I did not take this picture, even though I wish I had. Awesome way to style a paper bag, you should try it!
No comments:
Post a Comment