TRUE BEAUTY

TRUE BEAUTY

How might beauty best be described or characterized?  It is an enigma, a truly elusive mystery representing centuries of scholarly debate by worldwide philosophers, poets, and theologians.  Dictionary.com defines “beauty” as “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design or pattern, or something else.”  In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” the English romantic poet, John Keats, wrote “Beauty is truth, truth beauty – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

Keats seems to have arrived at a reasonable definition, especially since Jesus Christ declared “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

Contemporary culture is inundated and obsessed with so-called ideal beauty.  This superficial quest is the crux of many media-related experiences, whether through the film, television, publications, cosmetics or fashion industries.

However, I love the entirely simplistic and sensible way Sam Levenson defines beauty.  He offers the following prescriptive admonition for all who seek to join the ranks of ‘the beautiful people’:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you will never walk alone.

People must be restored, renewed, reclaimed and redeemed.

So never throw anybody out.

The beauty of a woman is not in her clothes, her figure, or her hair.

The beauty of a woman lies in her heart, where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.

It’s the caring she gives and the passion she shows;

This kind of beauty just grows and grows!

The sage, Solomon, wrote “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30) The genuinely beautiful are authentic lovers of God.  True beauty is an interior spiritual phenomenon.  If one would be truly beautiful, then it is necessary to have a heart that is truly devoted to God and to consistently demonstrate sincerity, empathy and love for neighbors, family and friends.  From the vantage point of eternity, all other manifestations of beauty are entirely vain, fleeting and inconsequential.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!