You’re nobody till you have no body
Feb 26
““Beauty has no obvious use, but civilization can’t do without it.” Freud
Hmmm. No one examining American society from the outside would buy into beauty not having an obvious use.We’ve sacrificed time, money, and even lives on the altar of the beautiful. The message for most is: ugly is ugly.
Cosmetic surgery, injections to suck out or plump up have almost become a rite of passage. Not so many years ago, one of my students received new and improved breasts for her 16th birthday. A few times during class I had to remind her to stop looking at them. What I didn’t say was everyone else was staring at them enough. But what used to be procedures no one would dare admit to undergoing are now grocery store chatter.
We’ve fixed noses, breast, lips, chins, thighs, tummies, tushies, cheekbones, eyelids—if there’s a body part, there’s a treatment.
What is it inside of us that refuses to like what’s outside of us? If we could see our souls when we looked in the mirror, would we want to or be as anxious to radically alter them as well?
There is something God-given deep inside of us that knows the preciousness of beauty. When I look at the snow-covered Colorado mountains or the pink-cheeked little face of my 8-year-old, I am so thankful that God was SO generous to provide us with with beauty to behold. He didn’t have to do it. He didn’t have to make things so gorgeous and amazing to look at — it’s like this incredible gift He gave us. The problem is that we’ve taken beauty, like so many of his other great gifts, and twisted it, made it an idol, made it more important than it should be. Yes, we’ve done that, and most cultures throughout history have done it. We need to recognize it and beware we keep beauty in its place. But never, never take beauty for granted or devalue it or act like it’s unimportant. As you watch the sunset this evening, try believing that God doesn’t think beauty is important. I don’t think it’s possible!
Comment by Rachelle — February 26, 2008 @ 10:30 am
Amen. The natural beauty that God has so graciously chosen to surround us with is astounding. What is it about society that demands perfection of our natural bodies???
Comment by Christa — February 26, 2008 @ 10:48 am