Food, Beauty and Control

This is a great past program from one of my favorite radio programs, Revive Our Hearts. You can read the transcript of the show, or listen to it. Below is an excerpt.

But I’ll tell you what, in this culture, beauty has become an idol. The cultural view related to beauty is that it’s a huge issue. I was traveling a few weeks ago, and on the airplane, in one of the seatback pockets, I pulled out a copy of People magazine. Now, I don’t normally pick up People magazine, but this particular issue was the issue that had the best and the worst dressed lists.
The thing was, here are these glamorous, good-looking people who spend thousands of dollars to try to look really good because they think that looking really good defines them, gives them worth, makes them valuable. I mean, it gets their picture in People magazine. Many of these people have tragic, sad lives, relationships that don’t last, anger issues, drug dependencies, but boy, they look good!
You see the value system in the culture? And here is a magazine that says these are people. What’s that say about you if you’re not as gussied up as they are? What are you? See, that’s the issue.
Eve was focused on the temporal, not the eternal. Her focus was moved from what God has said is important and good to what she wanted, and that’s when it became problematic.

• The issue is how much focus or importance do you place on physical appearance?
• How much are you seeking the approval of others, of men?
• Is your thinking about your outward appearance shaped more by the culture or by the Bible?
• What’s in your heart when you focus on your appearance? Is it value connected to your appearance?

God doesn’t look at you and say you’re valuable if you’re pretty. God looks at the inside, the heart.

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Food, Beauty and Control--Nancy Leigh DeMoss