Devotional: Beauty is NOT pain

Bonus devotional! Whoo!

"Beauty is pain" is a common saying- and one I hate.

In History we've been learning about China- and we spent a brief and nasty fifteen minutes or so talking about foot-binding. In case you didn't know, rich Chinese families used to bind the toes of their young girls under the foot such that they wouldn't grow. These women became later unable to run, or even walk swiftly.

It sounds horrific, doesn't it?

But think about it. Think about ear piercings and high heels, tattoos and plucked eyebrows, waxing, cuts on your legs from shaving, thigh gaps and burns on your neck from straightening your hair and all the other little harms (some being more harmful than others) we inflict upon ourselves- all for the sake of beauty.

I know, I know. It's tempting when you see elegant earrings or gorgeous tattoos or perfectly straight hair of your friends. But there's another saying. A saying I like much, much better.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

You have the power to redefine beauty- maybe just for yourself, or maybe for your friends. Just like foot binding has ended, we also can end- or at least try to end- this awful beauty-is-pain mindset.

But be careful what you redefine beauty to mean to you. Other things- things like "beauty is success" or "beauty is intelligence"- can be just as bad. As 1 Peter 3:3-4 says,

"3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.

4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight."

Beauty is from the soul, which is from God. Beauty is from God- not pain.