Girl Defined by Kristen Clark & Bethany Baird

Author:Kristen Clark & Bethany Baird
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL012130;REL012120;Women—Religious aspects—Christianity
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-03-24T04:00:00+00:00

Beauty Turned into the Beast

Humans have a history of placing a high importance on physical beauty, although the definition of what is beautiful varies from culture to culture. In America, the emphasis on appearance has become an intimidating beast. Beauty no longer feels like a gift from God but, rather, a living nightmare. The absurd expectations our culture puts on women are depressing and create an impossible reality.

Sadly, women have taken the bait. We’ve allowed the quest for beauty to become a scary, living thing that torments us day and night. You aren’t good enough. You’ll never measure up. Look at that model on the magazine. She is the standard of beauty. No guy will ever love you. Your nose is too crooked. Look at those small lips. Ew, what an ugly mole. On and on the taunting goes. We listen. We believe. We strive to measure up and please those around us. We fail. We become insecure and feel worthless. On and on the beast growls.

Instead of rejecting this beast, we have placed it on the altar of our hearts and worshiped it. We have made it an idol.

We may not bow down to a golden calf, but we do bow down to something. Elyse Fitzpatrick describes it perfectly in her book Idols of the Heart. “Idols aren’t just stone statues. No, idols are the thoughts, desires, longings, and expectations that we worship in the place of the true God. Idols cause us to ignore the true God in search of what we think we need.”3

That’s exactly what many of us have done with beauty, isn’t it? We ignore God and chase after external beauty in hopes of finding acceptance from others. We look in the mirror and think, If only I were skinnier, then I’d be happy. If only I had bigger breasts, then I’d be happy. If only I were taller, then I’d be happy. If only that guy thought I was beautiful, then I’d be happy.

I (Kristen) remember a time in my life when physical beauty was clearly an idol in my heart. I was convinced that if only I had (did you catch that—“If only I had . . .?”) longer, thicker hair, then I’d be truly happy. I was sure if I had long locks, then I’d be the most confident, well-liked, secure woman around. I just needed the hair. Instead of laying my insecurities before God, I took matters into my own hands. Here’s my story.

After several hours of research, I finally discovered the solution. Hair extensions! These weren’t just any old hair extensions though. They were semipermanent hair extensions. Through one of my friends, I got connected with a woman who knew how to do things right. To make a long story short, I purchased real pieces of long blonde hair and this woman actually braided them in hidden rows underneath my hair. After she finished the last braid, I looked in the mirror.

I was stunned. My hair had instantly grown five inches longer and doubled in thickness.

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