Bold and Beautiful Намуна

Body Image:

You step on the court and feel strong and powerful among your teammates and competitors. Your solid legs and muscular arms will serve you well today as you compete, and you’re grateful for what you can do because of your athletic build.

Until you get home. That’s when you turn on the TV and social media and see the skinny actresses and models and their “perfect” figures. Ugh. I wish I wasn’t so tall. I wish I fit into a smaller size. Nobody will ever think I’m beautiful.

OH! The lies we believe. Can I just ask you something?  Who sets the standard of beauty in Hollywood? Who defines what is beautiful in our culture? Who decides the perfect body type?

The answer is no one. No one gave them the authority to say one body type is better than the other. They can say their opinion all they want, but that’s all it ever will be. Just someone’s thoughts whose thoughts will differ from someone else’s.

Ladies, I’m going to give you a bit of truth that will change your world. YOU are the definition of beauty. Why? Because God—the Author of Truth—made you! He is the only source of real, undeniable, absolute truth, and He says you are a wonderfully made creation, knit together by His own hands. Beautiful. Perfect. Made in His image and created for a purpose. Anything that says otherwise is just noise.

Have you ever considered what you wouldn’t be able to do if you weren’t your specific height or shape? God has. Ephesians 2:10 says that you are God’s masterpiece, created specifically so you can do the good things he planned for you long ago. That can most definitely include sports!

No, you may never look like the girls on the runway. But they aren’t you, and they don’t have your purpose, just like you don’t have theirs. God knows how and why He made you, and it’s a good plan (Jeremiah 29:11). Trust Him and let Him show you the beauty you are by reading His Word—the Truth about who you are to Him.

Questions:
1. How do you define physical beauty? Where did you learn that definition?
2. To what degree do you believe that you are called beautiful by God?
3. Describe what your life would be like if you were truly free from body image issues and concerns.
4. Read Galatians 5:1 and John 10:10. What do these say about being bound by body image issues?

Want to experience Bold & Beautiful with a group? To download the complimentary Bold and Beautiful small group study, go to http://fcaresources.com/bible-study/bold-and-beautiful