The Beauty Factor

The Beauty Factor

By Samantha W.

I never gave much thought about the topic of physical beauty before, until I read a complaint on a book once. Why are the heroines always beautiful? It makes it look like, unless you’re beautiful, you can’t be successful.
I mulled it over and wondered if people would rather read about someone who was ugly or plain. Does that relate better to the average person? I did a little research on the women in the Bible. Not one of them could I picture as plain.

I found these descriptions instead:

Sarah: A beautiful woman

Rebekah: A very beautiful woman

Abigail: Intelligent and beautiful

Esther: Lovely in form and features

Sensing a theme? Here’s another: The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful… Genesis 6:2a NIV

Does that mean every woman in the Bible was beautiful? No, wait, Leah was homely looking, right? Not necessarily… in Genesis Leah is described as having weak eyes while Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. It is clear that Rachel is prettier than her elder sister, but it doesn’t mean Leah was ugly.

In fact, the word “weak” can also mean “delicate, tender, or gentle.” Being said to have gentle eyes sounds like a compliment.

We only have to look around at God’s Creation to know He has an appreciation for beauty. The maker of the sunset and the mountain valleys is the maker of you and me. And guess what?

God created you beautiful. In His eyes, every one of us is a precious jewel.

That isn’t to say we can’t become ugly, for sin tarnishes everything in its clutches. Hence, the reason physical beauty should take backseat to inner beauty. But it’s nice to know we can look in the mirror without scrunching up our faces and wishing we could change something. Instead, we can hold ourselves up like the beautiful people God made us to be.