Movies, tv shows, and social media influencers promote images of “beautiful people” that millions of viewers pay big money to emulate. Some go to extremes investing in dietary routines, surgical procedures and buying skin products that promise life-changing results. In fact, according to Forbes, in 2024 the beauty industry grew by 9.3%, had $570 billion in worldwide revenue, and is expected to grow another 8.4% per year by 2028. For those seeking to not only apply products to the skin, but actually change facial features, facelifts ranging in price from $3,500-$15,000 can be obtained.
It is so easy to be obsessed with outward appearances which fade and morph over time, when what we really need is inner transformation! When looking in a mirror, some even suffer from a mental health condition referred to as body dysmorphia, where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance, although minor or even unnoticeable to others.
I Sam.16:7 records Israel’s search for a king:” But the Lord said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance…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.” How reassuring to know that God looks at the heart of who we are! He urges us to seek His face (I Chron.16:11; 2 Chron. 7:14). Spending time in His presence draws us close so that we can experience “…the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor.4:6). Such fellowship with the Father transforms us with an inner light that is communicated to others, as Paul comments to Timothy: “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you (2 Tim. 1:5). May the testimony of our faith be outwardly visible and communicated from one generation to the next, not so much through genetics as through the genesis of a deep and abiding commitment to Jesus Christ.