Friday, June 28, 2013

Beating the Hot Sun of the Culture

"I feel so fat compared to them." 
"I'm not skinny enough to look good in a bathing suit!" 
"I wish I had the perfect body size."
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Have you ever thought any of these things? I'm ashamed to admit that I have. The world wants us to think that we have to be a certain weight and size to be beautiful. For a girl who has always been tall and has a larger-built frame, I thought that I would never be considered "beautiful." I hated even the thought of putting on a bathing suit. But several years ago when the Lord brought me to Himself, He slowly began changing the way I think about myself and what I define as "beautiful." 

- Our culture defines beauty as a certain weight or body size. But God defines beauty as, "Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." (1 Peter 3:4)
- Our culture's form of beauty will pass away, but God's beauty is imperishable.
- Our culture wants us to think that all we should care about is making ourselves more beautiful, but God wants us to pursue and live for Him. "Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)
- Our culture tells us that to be beautiful we must wear seductive bathing suits and clothing, but God wants us to be beautifully modest. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Learn to accept and cherish the body that God has given you. Eat healthy, exercise, and get adequate rest. If you do these things, you will be at the perfect weight that God meant you to be! All the while, keep in mind that your bodies are dust and will perish one day. But your soul will live forever, so make sure that you cultivate and grow your relationship with the Lover of your soul, Jesus Christ.

So how do we beat the hot sun of the culture? By living for Jesus Christ and shining as a bright light in a dark world! We must dress in a way that brings honor and glory to God, not to our bodies. Instead of focusing on ourselves and how we can dress to please others, we must be consumed with giving God all the glory.

"For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:16-17)



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