Because it really does matter...

Maybe you're not a Miss Universe hopeful and, like most of us, you probably won't ever see your face on the cover of a magazine. Perhaps when you look in the mirror, you don't see an exotic beauty or a Parisian fashionista. Maybe you see just an oh-so-average girl, who doesn't care about grooming and clothing. You've been told looks don't matter.

Well, the statement "looks don't matter" is a lie.

Looks DO matter. 

Now, don't leave thinking I'm crazy...God's Word even tells us this.

"...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 

1 Samuel 16:7

Many of us have heard this verse before in the context that we should be more concerned about what is inside and how we should dress our hearts rather than what we look like on the outside. This statement is certainly true, but this verse speaks to both issues.

The Lord sees and hears our innermost being (even the parts we can't see or hear). So our first goal is to address our hearts, for no matter how we dress on the exterior, the leaking of a sinful heart will taint a lovely outward appearance. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and our concern should be what Christ thinks of us rather than what man thinks. But we can't erase the part of the scripture that tells us, "man looks on the outward appearance." 

Yes, we live in a fallen world that judges only what is seen at a glance. You can be summed up by a million people in a few moments by what your appearance says about you without you even speaking a word.

Not fair? Yes... but it's true!

If our hearts are growing in the Lord, then let's not be tempted to disregard the grooming and clothing aspect to best show what the Lord is growing in our hearts! How can we expect to truly share to the world the hope within us if our outward appearance is distracting? Distractions can spawn

from having the tendency to be a: 

Lazy Groomer 

(Unkempt hair, personal hygiene problems, and clothing unbecoming to your form and coloring) 

Over-Primper

(Makeup overload and looking like a walking jewelry store)

Selfish Stylist

(Dressing only for you and disregarding the appropriateness and respect of an occasion or the public eye)

We should all accept we are never going to please everyone and that should never be our goal. I find it's easier to ask myself before I walk out the door, "Am I a distraction to the hope within me or does my appearance offer attraction not to me, but to Christ?" 

Appearance really does matter, but in a way deeper than just looking good for ourselves and for others' approval. It matters because of the harmonizing of allowing the inward heart to shine through the outward appearance!