The Truth About Beauty
In the summer of 1997, I went out to Salt Lake City, Utah, for what was the hardest summer of my life. I went out to colporteur. For eight hours a day, I was going from home to home knocking on doors, trying to get Mormons to buy Christian books. Selling chocolate would have been so much easier. Anyways, on the first day that I got there I met up with my friend Jon Larssen. Now Jon, although he had grown up as an Adventist in Angwin, near PUC, had recently had a powerful conversion experience. I had encouraged Jon to come out and colporteur with us. Jon arrived a few hours later after I arrived. After meeting the other colporteurs, there were about ten of us, we went out to Taco Bell for dinner. Now Jon, was tall, good looking, and was what we used to call a mac daddy! He was just really smooth went it came to talking to girls. So this is a mac daddy who had just recently had a conversion. Anyways, while we were eating, he said, “What’s up with the Volvos?” I said, “What? What are you talking about?” He said, “The girls, they look so boxy and square.” Most of the girls were very conservative, they all wore dresses, they wore very little makeup and they all looked very plain. So that’s why he referred to them as Volvos. So all summer long we joked about the Volvos, and about how we liked the more sporty type with the curves and the flashy colors, although I didn’t completely agree with him. Well, as time went by, Jon got to know the girls in our group very well as he held conversations with them. He had heard them give worship talks, and heard them share their struggles in colporteuring and how they overcame their difficulties. It was around the tenth week of suffering, that Jon says to me, “Do you want to know something, I think I could marry any one of those girls.” He said, “these girls are different. They are beautiful.” Do you know what happened to Jon? His eyes were opened and he beheld spiritual beauty.
This morning I will be going back and forth between the NKJV and the NIV. With certain verses, I like the way the NIV reads.
Proverbs 31:30 (NIV) Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Beauty is fleeting! Young men, don’t go after a women just because of her physical beauty. Beauty is fleeting! Do you know what “fleeting is? The Collins Cobuild English Dictionary says, “Fleeting is used to describe something which lasts only for a very short time.”
Many years ago before I got married, I was reading one of John Grey’s books. He is the well known author of Men are from Mars and Woman are from Venus. I was trying to figure women out. They are hard to figure out, aren’t they? In one of his books, I read something very interesting. He wrote about how in his counseling, he discovered that there were men who were married to women that looked like models, but these men lost complete interest in their wives. They were not attracted to them. John Grey thought this was strange. So John Grey did some research. He discovered that in order for a man to be attracted to his wife for the long haul, the man has to connect with his wife on four levels. There’s the emotional level, the intellectual, the physical, and what do you think the fourth level is? The spiritual level!
Could it be that our Creator designed us in such a way that in order for us to experience true intimacy there has got to be more than just physical attraction?
Young ladies, and young men, don’t ignore the importance of spirituality. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Amen!
Let me help you understand why spiritual beauty is so important. Everything in this world gets old. Can you remember the birthday present you got when you were 6 years old? How long did it take before it got old? What about all the Christmas presents you got last week? Did it get old after a few days? I don’t care if it is a new suit, I don’t care if it’s a new car, I don’t care if it is a house, it gets old. Everything gets old. Amen! By the way, even your boyfriend gets old, your girlfriend gets old, and even your spouse gets old.
There is one thing that doesn’t grow old. Do you know what that is? It’s the beauty of Christ’s character. The person that is being daily molded into the image of Jesus has something fresh, something new about them. There is something sweet about them.
2 Cor. 4:16 (NIV) “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
It don’t matter who you are, it don’t matter how fat your wallet is, we are all wasting away on the outside. No matter how much plastic surgery you get, no matter how many Botox injections you get, we are all wasting away. But for the Christian, who has Christ abiding in the heart, that person is inwardly being renewed day by day.
For this reason, when I decided to get married, I said, “Lord, find me a woman who loves you with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. There is nothing more beautiful than a woman with the sweet spirit of Christ. This is only possible as Jesus dwells in the heart. When I first met Liana just as a friend, she was just coming to know the Lord back in 1996. And Liana had this glow about her. She was sweet. Fours years later, in the year 2000, I met her again, and heard about how she stayed close to God despite all the lucrative offers she got. And I said, “Lord, have you been preparing her for me?” On the day of our wedding in the year 2000, she was sweet. Four and a half years have gone by, and let me tell you that she is so much sweeter today. I’ve seen God at work in her life during the last four years. Do you want to talk about extreme makeovers? God works slowly, but He’s thorough and He’s good. And praise the Lord, He is not done with her either. I know that surprises await me. And I praise God that He has been changing me too. I don’t know how my wife put up with me during our first couple of years of marriage. I was, let’s say I was strange.
Ladies, do you want some guy to like you because of your physical appearance? There are lots of guys that will go out and marry a person just because of their physical appearance.
Ladies, if a guy likes you purely for your physical appearance, what’s going to happen when you lose it? When you are in your early twenties, you may be looking real good. But the day after marriage, everything begins going downhill. You start sharing the same bathroom. Your spouse discovers that you snore. Your spouse discovers that you also have stinky breath in the morning. With the passing of time, your spouse will notice the lines that crisscross your face. You will age. If your man was attracted to you only because of your physical appearance, when your appearance fades, do you think he’s going to stick around? Men are leaving their wives all the time for younger women. If you want a man to stick around, you better make sure you have something that more attractive than the outward physical beauty which fades. You need Jesus Christ in your heart. Amen!
By the way, for those of you who are already married, it’s not to late to begin to work on your inner beauty. You can make your husband go “wow”!
The rest of the message is more specifically for our members who have been baptized. If you are just visiting our church for the first time, please relax and enjoy. If you have been baptized I encourage you to listen carefully.
Open with me to the book of 1 Timothy. Paul is writing a letter to Timothy, his protege. Timothy is a young minister. And as a young minister, Timothy is faced with all sorts of pressures, conflicts, and challenges from the church and from the surrounding culture. Does our church face pressures and challenges from the surrounding culture? Yes, it does! Perhaps Paul’s letter of counsel to Timothy can help us out.
Now chapter two is about worship. In some translations, you will see a title in bold lettering that says, “Instructions about Worship.”
Let’s begin reading in verse 8. In 1 Timothy 2:8 it says, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
And then in verse 9, he says, “in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls, or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
What’s the big deal with wearing gold or pearls or costly clothing?
What’s the big deal! I’m gonna wear some jewelry. For some reason it helps. It helps me with my insecurities. Do you know that there are people who wear this stuff because of their insecurities? My wife has a good friend in Korea. They were good friends since Junior High. This friend owns a jewelry shop. She wears a ton of jewelry and wears a watch that costs over $3000. She once told my wife that if she didn’t have her watch and her jewelry on, she would feel naked. She said that she wouldn’t know who she was without it.
I’m feeling a little insecure this morning, so I’m going to put some jewelry on. Oh, that makes me feel better. I feel like I’ve increased in value by about 14 dollars.
Let’s look at another passage.
Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 3. Let’s see what Peter has to say.
(3) “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
(4) Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
I like that! The unfading beauty in contrast to fleeting beauty.
(5) For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,…” Oh, I like that part! “They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.”
Why is Paul and Peter saying that women should adorn themselves modestly, and without jewelry and costly clothing? What is the purpose of costly adornment? Regardless of whatever form it may take, it is to attract attention to oneself. It is an expression of selfishness. You are in essence saying, “Look at me!” I’m beautiful. It’s all about self-glorification. As Christians, should we be calling attention to ourselves? When you were baptized, were you not declaring to the world, “I am dying to self. No longer am I living for self, but I am living for Christ. What does Galatians 2:20 say, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Amen!
As Christians, instead of attracting attention to ourselves, who should we be directing attention to? To Jesus! Amen!!!
And all along we have believed the devil’s lie about beauty. The devil’s been telling you, “God doesn’t want you to enjoy life and He doesn’t want you to look beautiful. God wants to restrict you from everything that is good. Right?” Isn’t that what the devil has been telling you?
Friends, God loves you and He desperately wants to save you. God doesn’t want you to get all caught up in yourself. Do you understand? And God also has other people He desperately wants to save, and He needs your help. You may be the only Jesus some people may ever see.
How many of you want to help Jesus save others? Say amen!
But I still want to wear it. I’ve got insecurity problems. Well, you need to meet Jesus because Jesus is the answer to insecurity problems. Amen. It’s not jewelry.
In the book Child Guidance, p. 423, Ellen White says:
Self-denial in dress is a part of our Christian duty. To dress plainly and abstain from display of jewelry and ornaments of every kind is in keeping with our faith.
Friends, God wants us to focus on developing the inner beauty. How many of you want to develop that inner beauty?
In Isaiah 3, God talks about the daughters of Zion who are proud who will be lost.
Isaiah 3:18-23
(18) In that day the Lord will take away the finery: The jingling anklets, the scarves, and the crescents;
(19) The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
(20) The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands; The perfume boxes, the charms,
(21) and the rings; The nose jewels,
(22) the festal apparel, and the mantles; The outer garments, the purses,
(23) and the mirrors; The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.
Such adornments fostered pride and self-glorification rather than the worship of God.
Much of the jewelry in the world originated with pagan roots. People wore things to ward off evil spirits. I personally believe it brings more devils in than casts out. No where in the Bible does it say to do this.
By the way, our bodies are the temple of God? Amen! What would you think of someone who took a jack hammer and started drilling holes in the temple of God? How far is too far? I’ve seen a person with seven holes in one ear. How many holes do we need in our bodies? In the beginning, God gave us the right number of holes that we need. We don’t need to add to that number or subtract from it. Amen!
Turn with me to Genesis 35. We will see how God calls His people to repentance and reformation by removing their ornaments.
Genesis 35:1-5
(1) Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
God instructed Jacob to move his family members from Shechem to Bethel in order to lead them to a spiritual reformation by building an altar in the very place where He appeared to him when he fled from his brother Esau.
Jacob realized that there was much work to be done before his family members would be ready to meet with God at Bethel. Out of consideration for his wives Jacob had tolerated idols and jewelry. These items probably included the idols that Rachel had stolen from her father (Gen 31:19), as well as the jewelry that Jacob’s sons had captured as part of the spoils of Shechem (Gen 34:27-29).
(2) And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify your selves, and change your garments.
To lead his family members to an inward moral and spiritual purification, Jacob summoned them to an outward cleansing: "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments; then let us arise and go up to Bethel, that I may make there an altar to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone" (Gen 35:2-3).
(3) “Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.”
(4) So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and all the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.
This is how Jacob prepares to present himself to the Lord.
Are we going to present ourselves before the Lord too? Is the Lord coming soon?
Are we on our way to the Promised Land? By the way, did you know that God had the Israelites strip themselves of all their ornaments before entering the Promised Land?
Turn with me to Exodus 33:5.
The context is the great apostasy where Aaron made a molten calf in imitation of the gods of Egypt while Moses was up on the mountain to receive the ten commandments.
Exodus 33:5 (5) For the Lord had said to Moses, “say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.”
(6) So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
Before entering the Promised Land they stripped themselves of their ornaments.
Now let’s go to the New Testament. Let’s go to the book of Revelation
We want to look at the attire of the two symbolic women mentioned in this book. John, who wrote Revelation, offers us a contrast between two types of outward adorning through the symbolism of two women, one pure and the other a "great harlot." The pure woman represents the true church, who is the "bride" of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:7-8
(7) “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
(8) And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
The great harlot represents the end-time apostate religious-political power; she lures the inhabitants of the earth to commit spiritual fornication with her.
Revelation 17:3-4
(3) So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
(4) The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
(5) And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Of The Abominations Of The Earth.
What is the lesson to be learned from the outward appearance of the two women? God saw fit to represent their character by their dress, because, our clothes reveal who we are.
The impure woman is dressed extravagantly and adorned with costly ornaments, simply because such attire fittingly represents her internal pride and seductive schemes. By contrast, the pure woman is dressed with simplicity and modesty, without outward ornaments, simply because such apparel fittingly represents her internal humility and purity.
Friends, one woman is heaven bound, and the other is hell bound. Are we heaven bound? Should we look more like the woman that is heaven bound? Amen!
I had an experience when I was around 15 that I will never forget. One summer, about five families in the church got together and decided to go camping together through Oregon. One evening, we pitched our tents, and were having dinner when some campers nearby came to say “hi” to us, and then asked, “are you Seventh-day Adventists.” We said “yes.” And then we asked, “How did you know?” They said, “well, we noticed that none of you were wearing any jewelry and we thought that maybe you were Adventists.” As a young man, I was so proud to be an Adventist. We were different. I didn’t say that we were odd looking. I said we were different.
Do you know how Jesus looked when He was on this earth?
Let me ask you this question? Was Jesus very good looking or not good looking? Jesus wasn’t good looking.
Contrary to what you have seen in pictures, Jesus was not a good looking man.
Let’s read Isaiah’s description of Jesus.
Isaiah 53:2
“For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.”
In the Desire of Ages p. 43, we are told:
His glory was veiled, that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side.
So what drew men, women, and children to Christ? It was the beauty of His holy character.
And I ask you, are people attracted to you because they see Christ in you?
Or is it difficult for them to see Christ because of all the clutter you have on, not to mention the overly expensive clothing we wear, while we are at it, I’m going to throw in a few more things. I’m probably going to get stoned after this message, so what do I have to lose. So continuing, there are the overly expensive cars we drive, and the overly expensive homes we live in. We can’t come down hard on the young people for wearing 5 dollar necklaces when we are driving around cars that do nothing more than symbolize conspicuous consumption instead of passionate concern for the sufferings of the world, can we?
I recently heard about a church where people don’t feel comfortable and accepted unless they fall in a certain income bracket and have the right spending habits. Lord, have mercy! By God’s grace, may that never happen here! May this be a place where the poor like me can find peace and rest, for Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor! Amen!
Friends, Jesus is about to return! There are many people who have yet to meet Jesus. They need to see Jesus in us. There are people in the schools we attend, there are people in our workplaces, there are acquaintances and friends of ours who have yet to see the character of Christ. Do you want to reveal Christ to others?
As I draw near to the close of this sermon, I’d like to share some beauty tips for those of you who’d like to begin cultivating your inner beauty.
One dear lady was asked what she used to make her complexion so beautiful. Her answer: It’s all in the make-up. Forget about the jewelry, it’s all in the make-up.
- For my lips I use truth
- For my voice I use kindness
- For my eyes, I use compassion
- For my hands I use charity
- For my figure, I use uprightness
- For my heart I use love
- For any who do not like me I use prayer
Isn’t that beautiful!!!
Isn’t this the kind of beauty we need to see in our women! Do I hear an amen? Young ladies, do you want to attract a good man. A man who will treat you right? And the only ones who will treat you right are the ones who respect God and love Him with all their hearts. If you want such a man, you need to cultivate that inner beauty! And young men, if you really want to be happy, you need to find a woman who has spiritual beauty.
In closing, I want to make an appeal. Heads bowed and eyes closed please.
Is it your desire to start off this new year by saying, “Lord, not I, but Christ.” How many want to start off this new year by saying, “I must decrease, He must increase.” How many of you want to start off this new year by saying, “Lord, if there is something in my life that hinders others from seeing you more clearly, I want you to remove it.” If this is your prayer, I want you to raise your hand. Amen! Amen! Praise God!
Lord, I pray that you would bless those who have stood for you. Oh that you would bless them with a special anointing. I pray this in Jesus precious name, Amen.
Closing Hymn: Live Out Thy Life Within Me. Hymn # 316
