"Looking Good!"

Yes, I watched the Super Bowl and I paid attention to the commercials. I laughed at the funny ones, but the one that stayed with me was one produced by Dove, the cosmetics corporation. (see it at http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/commercial.asp?src=homecommerciallink ) It featured a series of pictures of girls and young women who, when they measure themselves by contemporary standards, consider themselves unattractive. They focus on what they see as flaws - too many freckles, wrong color hair, not a perfectly shaped body, etc. According to this company, 92% of American girls think they are flawed, and many of those suffer from low self-esteem. That leads, in many cases, to self-destructive behavior - cutting, eating disorders, promiscuity, etc. It is rather ironic that a cosmetics company is taking the lead in this campaign to recognize real beauty. The cynic in me wonders why, but never the less, I applaud the initiative!

More than a few Christians suffer a similar issue in their spirituality. Our Christian world is filled with celebrities and super-stars whose real humanity is invisible as we see them only 'on stage' or through their books. From that distance their fears, doubts, sins, and inconsistencies cannot be detected. They look so beautiful- their lives so utterly wonderful. And by comparison, we are so human. They change the world, we just try to keep from being mean to our spouse. Their prayers reflect an enviable friendship with God, ours are filled with fumbling, uncertainty - is He really listening? They seem never to be touched by temptations, we feel the magnetic pull of greed, lust, indolence, sensuality - from the first moments of the day. Of course, at some level, we know that these celebrity Christians are really human, but we want the 'image' to be real so badly. If one of them sins publicly, we are shocked and grow angry. Then, we throw away all their books as though what they wrote is somehow less true because we learn they are struggling, imperfect Christians - just like us!

Living authentically as a Christ-follower is a soul-deep thing that isn't always pretty. Living honestly, confessionally -without pretense- will cause many to turn away from us, disgusted by what they perceive as a flawed soul! Thus, many of us will learn that when we around other Believers we should pray only positive prayers, only smile, always be 'up,' and say the right words that impress. The issues of sin, the angst of doubts, the issues of our lives will be covered over with the cosmetics of religion, leaving us with no depth of spirit. Spiritual superficiality is a curse that Jesus Himself addresses. In the 6th chapter of Matthew, he reminds us to go beyond just 'looking good,' which is hypocrisy, to really be good. “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give a gift to someone in need, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get." Matthew 6:1-2, NLT

Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthian church, was confronted with the challenge of preaching the Truth - which sometimes is not so attractive- to people who had been dazzled by 'super apostles' who had come through town with their magic show religion, their puffy words, and with their empty promises. He reminds the Believers that the Treasure is not us. It is the Spirit IN us! For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:6-10, NLT

I love that passage! "Pressed... perplexed... hunted down... but not crushed, never quitting, not abandoned!"

Are you ready to wash off the make-up, admit the flaws are there, and let the real beauty of Jesus be created in your soul?
Yes, there is a real beauty and it comes from a genuine, ongoing intimacy with the Spirit of God that transforms our hearts.
____________

Change my heart, oh God, make it ever true.
Change my heart, oh God, may I be like You.

You are the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.

Change my heart, oh God, make it ever true.
Change my heart, oh God, may I be like You!

--Espinosa, Eddie Copyright: 1982 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing