Real Beauty

Anyone who thinks girls spend more time in front of the mirror than guys ... well, they haven’t raised three boys! With two full baths, each with a large mirror, there was a real struggle to get a spot in front of the mirror. As boys, they weren’t interested in checking their clothes for wrinkles or if their shirt was tucked in. No, they were much more interested in looking up their noses, in their ears, and at their tongues. Guys are just weird and they're mirror hogs!

Beauty is a lot of trouble -- especially true beauty. I'm not talking about the outward appearance, but the only beauty God acknowledges. A beautiful heart should be the first and foremost desire of us all for, "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Sam 16:7b) From a beautiful heart pours characteristics of Christ; the flip side is that from a heart of vanity gush all the things that make us truly ... ugly. When Mr. Ugly-Self shows up, its roots can be traced clearly to a heart far too long and too far from The Master; away from God’s Word -- the mirror. Just like my guys would hinder me from taking a look at my outward appearance, Satan does all he can to keep me away from time with God: the phone, television, magazines, meetings -- all kinds of busyness. I must fight for my time at the mirror -- time in God's Word pointing out the areas of my life that need touch=ups, make-overs, and re-dos. Beauty is indeed a lot of trouble, but real beauty is truly worth it!