You see the superstars strutting their stuff across the stage. And as the ooberly long, skinny legs prance around with their perfectly tones midriffs and sculpted arms, you can't help but look down at your "incomparable" body.
I used to think that self-image was just a thing that girls struggled with. Yet, after doing some research, I found out that 20-25% of all people with eating disorders are actually males. We are all hit with the "I'm not good enough" complex.
I was talking to my friend about this, how we get so bogged down in body image that it consumes us, drives us to do ridiculus things, and is the first priority in our lives. Even if you don't go "overboard" and start starving or purging yourself, it still constantly lingers at the back of your mind.
Why do we feel like this all the time? The scientific answer would be that as we start to get into our socializing stages, we take note of people around us; what they do, what they say. We learn these behaviors from those around us.
Yet God was dealing with this issue way back in the time of David! "Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart" is one of the most popular self-confidence boosting verses, and for good reason! Ecclesiastes was right when it said there is nothing new under the sun.
And do you know why we still cared way back then? Because this is one of Satan's best traps. If he can get us consumed in ourselves, if he can get us to lose our eternal viewpoint, we are done for! The moment we start to withdraw within ourselves, it gives the Devil a chance to step in and trip us. If you're not looking around you, not always aware, it's a whole lot easier to fall!
And oh so many times he is successful at this underhanded way to have us trip up! I have struggled with this issue so many times, and still do; I have yet to find a friend who is perfectly content with how they look.
But we don't have to be stuck like that, immoblized by ourselves. Praise God for the grace that breaks those chains that imprison our hearts and our minds! Praise God for His hope that covers up the mirrors! Praise God for making us exactly who we are!
Stop focusing on what others can see, and start working on what God can see; let the beauty that comes from a true relationship with God flow through you. It creates the most heavenly glow that no one, not even a supermodel, can compete with.
It's time to give yourself a Godly makeover!
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 1 Peter 3:3-4
Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. 1 Timothy 4:8
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