When I think of God, I think of this mind-blowingly detailed inventive artist, who knows the numbers of hairs on your scalp, your individual tongue prints, who knows how many cells exist in our individual bodies and gave us all a unique persona, which is another expression of Himself and His heart.
Created in his image, beautifully and wonderfully!
God cares about every little aspect and detail in our lives. So why shouldn’t He care about our beauty and makeup regimes?
Looking after oneself, without it being in excess, making sure we are kept and well groomed is important. It underpins a part of our self-esteem, when we look good, we feel good.
The European Union Cosmetics Directive defines a cosmetic as “any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair, nails and lips) or with the teeth with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance and/or correcting body odours and/or protecting them or keeping them in good condition.”
God talks about our bodies being a temple for His spirit, just like you would for any building; maintenance and good house keeping (cleaning) is essential for it’s upkeep. I would like to think the same for our bodies.
We should take time, to keep fit, be of good hygiene and look well.
So what beauty or grooming routines do you keep?
My favourite skincare practice, is to cleanse and moisturise before bed, when we sleep – our bodies rejuvenate and repair the most. It is an opportunity for my skin to absorb moisture and nutrients for its first layer of skin, to keep it looking supple and radiant. When I remember this at bed time, my morning face never resembles something from out of the wild!
Most of us like to maintain a youthful appearance, some of us like to subtly enhance and maximise our best features with the use of skincare and different aesthetic practices. Others like to use makeup and hair styles as an expression of self, creatively and colourfully communicating the person that we are – using our bodies as a canvas.
When we collaborate our inner beauty with our outer beauty, we present to the world our most wholesome version.
Whatever you do to ‘beautify’, the best question to ask ourselves is: “Is this a version of me, that my creator would delight in?”
Beauty regimes become detrimental when we become obsessive in perfecting the way we look. When we chase after false perfection and beauty standards that cannot be met, we will fall short every time.
Our true value, never came from anything we wore or did… when we collaborate our inner beauty with our outer beauty, we present to the world our most wholesome version.
Let us be a people who are committed to presenting our true selves, knowing that we own beauty and that God loves it when we look after our temples.