“For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every
evil thing are there.”
James 3:16
In day two
of this national eating disorder awareness week, we turn our attention to
appearance. Indeed, wishing, coveting and image are right there in our lives. The
outside world displays some aspirational form of aesthetically pleasing and
powerful messages; beauty, especially within the definition of a rigid, thin
beauty, becomes its dominant depiction.
This
hierarchy of human value, intensified with its dangled promises of untold
perfection, happiness and a problem-free existence, can often find us is a
position to covet, to envy and to further exemplify less than positive
character attributes in the process.
“A sound heart is the life
of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.”
Proverbs 14:30
Proverbs 14:30
And it stems
from a place of fear: we fear we are inadequate as is. Scripture, however,
negates that concept...
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”
Psalm 139:14
“O
my dove…let me see your form…for your form is lovely.”
Song
of Solomon 2:14
“Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot
in thee.”
Song
of Solomon 4:7
Each one of
us is unique, valuable and yes, aesthetically pleasing in the eyes of our
Creator.
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was
made that has been made.”
John 1:3
We must
never underestimate that reality.
Therefore,
we need to ask for His viewpoint to correctly see and value ourselves. We have
prayed for, wished for and coveted to be some image, often one which is both
harmful and unattainable, while failing to celebrate ourselves for who we are
already.
“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and
desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because
ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume
it upon your lusts.”
James 4:2-3
We need a
shift in our thinking, a shift within our hearts.
Let’s focus
on shifting that right now, wherever we find ourselves.
Little by
little, bit by bit, this miracle can happen!
Copyright © 2017 by Sheryle Cruse
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