Our Looks

I recall growing up that I always felt as if I was an ugly guy. Who would be interested in me? Where I failed in looks I more than made up in Jokes. I felt that I needed to be funny almost at all times and then people wouldn't pay attention to my looks.

I told so many jokes that I was called a comedian in school. As I aged I didn't care what I looked like. I already found the one loved and I'm beautiful in her eyes. That's all that mattered to me.

The woman of today who is exceedingly beautiful is likely to be spoiled; perhaps not so much because of her own vanity as because of the selfishness her beauty arouses in others.

That excessive love of beauty, a hunger and thirst for it, can become a snare. Eve, the first and only woman created by God, was likely the most beautiful woman who ever lived. But she and her husband, Adam, rebelled against Jehovah. So Eve lost her close relationship with God and shared in bringing a terrible tragedy on the human race. Afterward, she was doubtless still beautiful, but her beauty was only skin deep.

Beauty is ultimately a gift of God, and some have inherited more of it than others. Some wish they were more beautiful—or handsome—than they are, and many spend a lot of time and money making the most of whatever good looks they possess. But as Eve’s example shows, beauty alone is worthless in the long run unless it is accompanied by other qualities.

The Bible has counsel for both men and women in the matter of good looks. For men, it notes: “The beauty of young men is their power.” (Proverbs 20:29) The energy and vitality of young men can be very appealing. But what happens when that youthful vigor wanes? The Bible proverb says: “Gray-headedness is a crown of beauty when it is found in the way of righteousness.” (Proverbs 16:31) Righteousness is a facet of inner beauty. If a young man cultivates it, it will still be there when he loses that attractive vigor of youth.

Regarding women the Bible says: “Charm may be false, and prettiness may be vain; but the woman that fears Jehovah is the one that procures praise for herself.” (Proverbs 31:30) A pretty, charming young woman is a delightful companion. But what if there are hypocrisy and selfish vanity lurking behind the physical charm? Then the beauty is only skin deep, and it hides an inner ugliness. When the prettiness fades, what will be left? How much better if the good looks are matched by an unfading inner beauty, rooted in a ‘fear of Jehovah’!

Makes sense doesn't it?