Compared to Who? a 10-Day Plan to Improve Your Body ImageSample

If you aren't one of the millions of people who watched Victoria's Secret model Cameron Russell's ten-minute TED talk, then allow me to bring you up to speed. Cameron Russell, an underwear model, shocked many with this revelation: She's insecure.

"Beauty does not make you happy," Russell explains. "A size two does not solve your insecurity. The prettiest clothes and the shiniest hair in the nation is not the combination you need to stop being consumed with how you look. In fact, just the opposite may be true."

Cameron Russell bravely exposes beauty's lie. Yet, I wonder how many believed her. The lie is persuasive, and the liar excels at deception. He convinces us that the problem is with us and how we look. Change your body—change your body image.

But, battling beauty on its own terms never works. Culture's standards keep changing. As soon as I figured out how to use my flat iron, curls were back in style. In the 1950s, marketers encouraged women to gain weight before swimsuit season. Few search for weight-gain supplements now!

The security we seek from a "better" body is a myth too. Beauty neither solves our problems nor does it give us what we hope. Consider this:

• You can get into the best shape of your life and still struggle in your marriage (or struggle to find a boyfriend!).

• You can get cosmetic surgery (so you love how you look in selfies) and still not find the joy you desire.

• You could look like a Barbie doll. Your chest can be full, your waist tiny, and your complexion so flawless it looks airbrushed, but your friends may still betray you.

Ask yourself this question, "What does beauty mean to me?"

I don't mean defining what it means to be beautiful—like having a shapely body, perfect skin, or whatever trait you would describe as part of physical beauty. Instead, I'd like you to think about what value you have assigned to beauty. What do you believe a "better" body would do for you?

Look at today's verses and see what you observe from God's word about the value of physical beauty.