"Do you know not that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
(1 Corinthians 3:16)
I remember playing with Barbie as a little girl and longing to have her long flowing blond hair and long legs. Neither of which were in the genes for me! As many little girls do, I idolized Barbie. I saw her as the image of the ideal woman; perfect skin, perfect body, perfect muscular boyfriend, perfect pink convertible... the perfect life. As I grew, I began to idolize music and movie stars. They weren't dolls, but they too had the seemingly perfect life. In magazines and on television they were airbrushed and made to look like they had the perfect body too. The attention drawn to their bodies, left me to believe that having the perfect body was crucial to to having the perfect life... and I began to believe the lies that these digitally enhanced women were perfect and more beautiful than I could ever be.
What we immerse ourselves in has a real impact on the way we think about and treat ourselves. If we constantly view images of "perfect" women, we can begin to compare ourselves to them and feel that we need to become more like them. So we go to the gym one more time, wear more make up, get a new hair dye color, stop eating so much, stop eating all together... We convince ourselves that if we work to create the perfect body, we will eventually have it and then, then we'll be happy like those women.
First, they aren't real women. They are in fact digitally enhanced and airbrushed. In fact, if Barbie were a real person she would not be able to stand up. She would topple right over because her proportions are so unrealistic. I recently saw a news story about a woman who underwent numerous plastic surgeries to become a replica of Barbie. I felt so sad for her because it was evident that she was very beautiful before she tried to become someone that she was not. The most beautiful replica we can become is the woman that God had in His mind and created us to be.
Second, we don't know that they are happy. The seemingly perfect life is often just that, seemingly. We know that we don't find happiness in slavery, yet we so often allow ourselves to become slave to the pursuit of vanity. We know that counting calories, starving, and worrying about the scale, does not bring freedom. With our minds, we can reason through these truths. Yet, we let the world's ideal for the woman's body take over what we know to be true. We buy into the lies. We have to begin sowing the truth in our hearts, because to know with our minds is not enough.
We are beautiful. We are real. We are beautiful just the way God made us. The perfections or imperfections of our bodies can not determine our beauty. The number on the scale is not the value of our worth. Saint Paul wrote, "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" What matters about our bodies is not that they are "perfect" in the eyes of the world, but that they are a holy dwelling place for the living God.
On the opposite end of the beauty spectrum, a new fad has been floating around social media, to show your real body with all its imperfections. First I saw pictures of women who were mothers, showing their c-section scarred bellies, etc. The message was that we don't need to hate our bodies or compare them to the unrealistic pictures of supermodels, we should be proud of them the way they are. Most recently though, I saw a picture of a movie star who is now in her sixties. The article praised her for letting a picture go mainstream without any touch ups. However, in the photo she was scantly dressed in a provocative pose. I didn't think this was praiseworthy, but rather sad. Sure, be confident and comfortable in your body, that's what this post is all about. But, we need to realize as women that the most beautiful expression of our beauty is not seen in the unveiling our bodies to the world, but in the revealing of God through the body. The body is sacred. The body has great power, we choose how to use it. If this sixty year old had been appropriately dressed to show her natural beauty to the world, she could have led souls closer to the heart of God.
God created each woman to be different. We must except our bodies for what they are and ask God to help us to love ourselves. We will find freedom and fulfillment when we realize that the "perfect body" is not real or worth seeking and instead focus on the perfection of the eternal soul that lives within the body. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, with our bodies we can bring great glory to God. As we learn to appreciate our bodies the way they are and focus on loving and serving the Lord with them, we will find true joy.
Be real, let your body by a channel for the Holy Spirit to flow into the world.
Today's Challenge:
Each time you look int he mirror, remember today's scripture.
Today's Prayer:
Oh Lord, turn my eyes away from images of worldly perfection of the body and towards the interior disposition of my soul. Make me confident in my body. If ever I question the beauty of my body, remind me that it is Your temple. Amen.
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