True Beauty

Cindy has a miniature dog named Princess. Princess has a precious little face, fluffy fur, and is downright adorable. She is even cuter when Cindy dresses her in little doggy clothes—beachwear, rainwear, Christmas sweaters, and frilly outfits. Princess wears them with pride, and the cute-ness quotient is off the charts!

Princess gets noticed everywhere she goes. Sometimes, it’s for the cowgirl outfit she’s wearing, or for the princess dress and tiny dog tiara. Friends on social media share photos of Princess, and likes on the photos sometimes number into the thousands.

Princess wasn’t always so cute. She was once a rescue dog—unwanted and dirty, her fur was matted and muddy. With the love and care of her new master, the previously unkempt dog became a stunning creature.

Though outward beauty and cute clothing are what folks notice first, after they are around Princess for a while, they discover something else that makes them love her even more. The little dog is affectionate and well-behaved. She loves everyone equally, from the janitor at the school to the millionaire at the coffee shop. Her inner beauty far outshines what is on the outside.

The same is true for us. There’s nothing wrong with fixing our hair and makeup and wearing pretty outfits. The problem comes when we spend more time on that than we do working on our inner beauty.

What if we put as much effort into our hearts and souls as we did with our daily beauty routines? What if we cleansed away the imperfections that keep us from being like God? What if we clothed ourselves with kindness and love?

God thinks a gentle and quiet spirit is beautiful. As many of us have discovered, outward beauty fades, wrinkles appear, and hair thins and turns gray. Inner beauty will never perish—and it will always please the heart of our Master

Father, the desire of my heart is to be beautiful for you. Help my character to reflect yours. Give me a depth of kindness and love for others to make me an extension of your loving hands. Remind me to work on my inner beauty routine—to spend time in your Word, to get rid of my imperfections through repentance and confession to you, and to clothe myself in your love. Give me a quiet and gentle spirit so that whenever people look at me, they’ll see a reflection of you.

Paws to think:

Think of three people who excel at inner beauty. What makes them inwardly beautiful? What can you do to enhance your inner beauty?

Did you know:

Dog grooming is not just for cosmetic appeal; it’s important for their health.