beauty
Beauty is an expression of God's nature. The universe and nature radiate an overwhelming beauty and grace that can hardly be expressed in words. Through the various sense organs given to us by our Creator, we are able to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of God's creation. The magnificent beauty and diversity that God created is also expressed in us humans, who are made in God's image. In the Holy Scripture itself there are only a few passages in which the beauty of people is explicitly mentioned. Only individual people are mentioned by name in this regard; including King Saul, the first king of Israel, his successor King David, his son Absalom and several women; including the daughters of Job.
God originally created man wonderfully and flawlessly. But through sin and separation from his Creator, man lost the glory that God had given him. His godless existence left visible traces both in nature and in human life. Sin has not only corrupted us morally and physically, but has also increasingly disfigured us physically....
People who live without God often think and judge very superficially. Many of them are primarily focused on appearances. A person's physical appearance often seems to be more important than their personality. When assessing the question of who or what is considered “beautiful” or not, certain ideals of beauty serve as a standard. These are often dictated by the fashion industry, although trends change from time to time. What is "in" today may be "out" tomorrow. As in many things, it's not about people, but solely about financial profit. Nevertheless, fashion and advertising shape the self-image and perception of beauty of many people from childhood onwards, especially women. They are often reduced in society to an object of desire....
Especially during puberty, many young people's desire to conform to a certain beauty ideal in order to be noticed by others grows. This puts enormous pressure on this young people. So they try to adapt to fit in. Others who do not live up to the propagated ideal begin to perceive themselves as ugly or unattractive. Their constant feeling of shame or inferiority often leads to depression and other psychological problems in the long term. As a result, some withdraw completely. This sad circumstance particularly affects young people, who generally pay more attention to appearances than older people.
In order to stand out visually, people use different means: These include make-up, jewelry, eye-catching clothing as well as tattoos or piercings. Many people use various cosmetic products, many of which contain harmful chemicals that can cause or promote the development of diseases such as cancer. There are people who are willing to undergo surgery just to be attractive. Such operations are usually very expensive and involve health risks. At the same time, artificial intervention often irretrievably destroys people's natural beauty. Some of them are no longer even recognizable as people, but look like plastic dolls. In order to please their partner or friends, many people hide behind a facade all their lives. However, behind this there is actually an inner longing to be seen and accepted.
Attractive people are often defined by their appearance. Many of them are prone to vanity. Vanity, in turn, is a form of pride that leads to arrogance. Instead of God, beautiful people often want to be the center of attention in order to be desired and admired by others. Their excessive self-love makes some of them become idols for themselves and others. Idolatry, in turn, is sin because a person should not worship anyone as much as God.
Beautiful people are often preferred in society - both in private and professional contexts - while less beautiful people are more likely to be excluded or disadvantaged without themselves being able to do anything about it. Some hope for sympathy, others hope for more success for their business. For most people - especially young men - it's often just about sex. Industry also takes advantage of the charms that pretty people radiate to make their products more attractive through appropriate advertising. How good or useful the advertised product actually is often remains secondary...
In the Bible we find very little information about what Jesus looked like. Unlike many famous people in history, it was not his physical appearance, his wealth, or his professional success that made Jesus stand out in public, but rather his humble character, free from any kind of pride. Added to this are Jesus' unconditional loyalty to God, his Father, as well as his selfless and unfeigned love for all people, which culminated in Jesus' vicarious death on the cross. This is what makes the Son of God an example for all people. For God delights in these things. External beauty, on the other hand, neither makes us humans more respected by God nor does it bring us closer to God. For God does not judge us by worldly standards, but only looks at our heart and character.
The Bible encourages us not to let our self-esteem be determined by human ideals - especially since beauty is always in the eye of the beholder - but to accept ourselves as God created us. At the same time, we should remember that external beauty is fleeting, while internal beauty, which arises from a person's pure heart, does not fade. The more we concentrate on it, the more appearances fade into the background. This in turn makes us free and independent of the opinions of others and also gives us satisfaction, which has a noticeable effect on our environment and our health.
In the Bible, women are praised not for their beauty, but only for their efficiency or hard work, for their modesty and honor, and for their humble and God-fearing lifestyle through which they honor God. A man after God's own heart, on the other hand, is not characterized by physical strength, an athletic body or creative sayings, but by prudence and self-control, reliability and sense of responsibility, as well as by love, loyalty and care for his wife.
God wants us not to judge our fellow human beings based on their appearance. Since God makes no distinction between people based on their appearance, we should not favor or disadvantage anyone because of their physical appearance. Even when it comes to ourselves, appearances shouldn't be the focus. A believing person should not attract attention through expensive jewelry, special clothing, colorful body paint or elaborate hairstyles and the like, but rather through good works that benefit other people. This applies to both women and men. Instead of striving for fleeting beauty, God wants us to think about how we can serve our fellow human beings in love. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we should always strive to draw people's attention to our Creator and to give glory to Him in everything. If we magnify God and make ourselves small, God will reward us. If, on the other hand, we put ourselves first, God will humiliate us...
In addition, the Holy Scripture says that in the resurrection the redeemed people will receive a new body with imperishable beauty, in which no defects will no longer be present. Nature will also be freed from its transience and all flaws forever.