Set Me Free: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryНамуна

SET ME FREE FROM SELF-HATRED: THE BEAUTY TRAP

Do you know any anorexic men? I didn't think so. Men are anxious to some extent about their appearance, but the pressure on women to be thin and beautiful is on a whole different level. Cosmetic surgery has become an enormous industry. Makeup, hair, clothes--think of the time and money that women feel they must invest in these things.

It's one thing to try to clean up and look nice. It's another entirely to live in daily self-hatred. The other day I saw a video about a young woman lamenting how she looked. What depressed her was not the usual deficiencies"--hair, nose, shape, etc. She was despairing because she had "man shoulders." Good grief. The celeb shows had even made this girl hate her shoulders. It's a battle you can never win--there's always somebody around who is taller, thinner, cuter, with better hair, skin, clothes, and jewelry.

You cannot escape the culture. What you can escape is the self-torment of wishing you were somebody else (even a magazine model). One of the blessings of the gospel of Christ is to allow us to accept ourselves and identify and enjoy our own unique gifts and blessings. Here's Jesus' voice: "The LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor . . . to bind up the brokenhearted, to . . . provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes" (Isaiah 61:1,3).

Whose admiration do you most crave? Crave God's. Through the lens of Christ's work, your "pictures" look nice to him. In fact, you're beautiful.