On Sunday we were talking about some of the culture of the Old Testament. Specifically the roll of the women. More specifically being mothers. If you couldn't bare children you were pretty much worthless. This is still true in some cultures (maybe even ours). I got to thinking about the culture of our day and beauty.
How important is beauty in our culture? Is your life worth less if you have no possibility of being "beautiful"? Who says what is beautiful? And why are we content to believe them?
Julie had a great insight. She said that we look at beauty as something on the outside instead of seeing that the beauty is God on the inside.
There is a book by Henri Nouwen. I would recommend it to everyone. It's called Adam. It really change the way I look at disability.
And can I just say everything I'm reading right now in the bible is about the upside down kingdom... here's an excerpt. This passage gives me great hope, because I have no hope in myself...
| For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; | |
| but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, | |
| but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. | |
| Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. | |
| For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; | |
| but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, | |
| and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, | |
| so that no man may boast before God. |
3 comments:
You bring up yet another question that has been rattling in my mind for years... Inner beauty.
Heres a curly question for you.. If inner beauty is true beauty, why is outward beauty so desirable? For both sexs, but obviouosly in our culture, women bear alot of the burden. As do scrawny, bookish, sensitive men like me for the masculine "ideal."
Is the attraction to outward beauty, merely a product of culture, or are we attraced to beauty as a relfelction of God? Keh?
well I would say, "if beauty is a reflection of God, then why does it keep changing all the time"
My friends told me that in the Azores when their parents were children it was the very fat, very white women that were considered the most attractive. Most studies lately have shown there is an inate biological urge to mate with those that are symetrical, as symetry suggests the most healthy gene pool. I think most of our desires for outward are basic biology, but I desire a woman that is truly Christlike, it doesn't hurt that she is hot though :)
the rev
The form of beuaty may change culturally, but surely the fundamentals ( the content) dont. So if symetry suggests "health" then outward form is of importance. and Clearly God designed it this way.But the Christian ( fool that he/she is) is always directed towards invisible realities.
Me, I like renaisannce women...Big and healthy.. ample, if you will..
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