I find it interesting that the exterior of someone has such an effect on the person’s inside. --allow me to preface by saying that I too judge a person by their exterior-- How one looks gives a person meaning & a feeling of security. It also gives that person a predisposed attitude towards life. Those who are seemingly better to gaze at, will routinely be more confident & candid with life. They will see themselves as being a leader, whereas when I see someone who does not have the exterior of a model, they seem to keep their gaze downcast when passing those who do. As if somehow their exterior exposes a piece of their character that should be shamed. This is a crying shame. We see pretty girls flock together, while they ignore the quirky, awkward ones who are seemingly shoved into the corner until someone comes along to tell them they are just as beautiful & worthy of love as the others. If we want to affect the attitudes & minds of those around us, I believe we must continually tell them they are worthy of love.
I’ve seen a lot of young girls continually make terrible decisions for themselves because I believe they don’t think they deserve what is best for them. They date men who beat them, they purge to be skinner, they stay with men who make them feel like the dog feces they just stepped in on the sidewalk. –allow me to also say, this is NOT a man-hating rant. Only an observation of how the way we treat & encourage one another drastically affects what we believe about ourselves— I’ve also seen girls who are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen believe that they are ugly because of how their parents interacted or because, again personal observation, they weren’t told of how much value they are to the Maker of Heaven & Earth.
How we treat one another & encourage one another will have a lasting affect on what we believe about ourselves. We can tell ourselves that only what I say matters, but deep down we know that what others say cuts DEEP. One simple word can throw off a person’s day. One hug can make someone who feels unworthy of love feel loved again. We must always remember that what we say, how we treat others can either allow them to experience the love of Christ or turn them to everything in this world that will eventually FAIL them. Please, I beg of you, speak with the assurance of knowing that we are loved despite being a rebellious, unruly people. Speak with the knowledge that there are some people who are never told that they are worthy of the love of the King of the Universe, the one who sustains all things by His powerful word.
You are loved by the only one who matters. You are beautiful because you are displaying a piece of the Lord’s image that no one else can display. YOU ARE TREASURED.
