Discover Top Posts Tagged with #outer appearance

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Alan Dundes

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You’re so beautiful, shine more so I can keep looking at you.

Monsta X (Shine Forever)

#monsta x #shine forever #dance #kpop #you're so beautiful #shine more #beautiful #so i can keep #looking at you #shine #outer appearance #rap #quote #music #song #song lyrics #lyrics #love #sweet #compliment

Hi Rachel! Throughout my time as a Christian, I've heard a lot of discourse between denominations about the way women should dress. I've heard some people say women SHOULD wear makeup, some say they shouldn't, some say they should wear pants, some say we shouldn't wear pants, discourse about hairstyles (short haircuts vs. long, etc.) To be honest I feel like it's nitpicking, but I wanted another opinion! I always figured stuff like how a woman dresses or wears her hair or makeup isn't as--

–significant as whether or not she’s seeking God, and that embracing different forms of feminine appearance wasn’t as big of a deal as people made it out to be. (I’m a woman too by the way so this does interest me personally) What do YOU think? What does the Bible say? Does it have to do with OT ritual law, or is it something we should still be respecting today? —Hello!What came to mind when reading your message was the following verses:

“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” - 1 Peter 3:3-6

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” - Proverbs 31:30

You’re completely right - outer appearance is not as significant as a person’s spiritual state and the inner beauty that comes from a heart that seeks Christ and follows His will. And that’s exactly what the verses above are telling us. The Word tells us that unlike man’s tendency to look at outer appearance, God looks at the heart. God is responsible for forming our outer appearance, but what He truly cares about and focuses on is the state of our hearts. These verses aren’t telling us that it’s inherently wrong to put care into our outer appearance. Our focus is to be our spiritual growth and the beauty that comes from that, as this will last forever whereas physical appearance does not. But that doesn’t mean it’s inherently wrong to find yourself or others outwardly attractive. And I don’t think it’s inherently wrong to wear make up, fix your hair up, or wear clothes you find pretty - I personally enjoy these things myself. However, there are ways that these things can become problematic. When it becomes a problem is when outer appearance becomes a main focus and is taken to a place of causing a person to stumble in sin. For example, one’s appearance can become an idol if a person fixates on it and it starts coming before God in their hearts. It’s also extremely unhealthy when people focus on outer appearance to the point that they believe their value and the value of others stems from outer appearance. This can lead to a variety of unhealthy behaviors such as making poor choices in friends/romantic interests thus leading to unhealthy/failing relationships (if say a person is choosing friends or a significant other based on outer appearance) and having the tendency to objectify oneself and others. All of these behaviors go against God’s will, which is why they’re sinful - He does not intend for us to treat ourselves and others in these ways.Women shouldn’t be made to feel that they should or shouldn’t wear makeup. If a woman enjoys wearing it and wants to wear it, there’s nothing wrong with that so long as it isn’t causing her to place all of her personal value in her outer appearance and/or encouraging her to make outer appearance an idol. Likewise, if a woman doesn’t want to wear makeup, there’s nothing wrong with that and she shouldn’t be pressured into feeling she has to wear it or given the message that she’s less attractive/less valuable without it.Regarding pants, I don’t believe it’s wrong for women to wear pants. I talked about that a bit in this ask if you’re interested in reading it. That ask also has a link to another ask I answered about hair length.I also have a tag with asks about Christian fashion, you can find that here if you would like to read them.The attitude of focusing on inner beauty that comes from faith and loving God over outer beauty is something that we definitely should be following as Christians. This isn’t OT ritualistic law, as one’s attitude about outer appearance can directly cause a person to stumble in sin and harm them/others spiritually if their attitude about it doesn’t align with His. Also, the fact that it was mentioned in the New Testament in 1 Peter 3 also confirms that this isn’t OT ritualistic law. What isn’t necessary is creating man-made rules about outer appearance such as “women must/must not wear makeup” or “women can’t wear pants” or “women must keep their hair at this precise length”. This isn’t helpful and in my opinion, is just another form of unhealthy fixation on outer appearance. If a woman feels personally convicted to say avoid makeup, wear only skirts, or keep her hair a certain length - that’s one thing. Trying to create and enforce a set of rules like this for everyone to adhere to without Biblical support is another thing - and one that shouldn’t be done. Unless something about a woman’s appearance is causing her or others to sin in some way, then it shouldn’t be a central focus. Rather, the focus on spiritual growth and the everlasting beauty that comes from that should be the central focus.I hope you found this helpful, sorry for taking so long to answer this!