Qualities For Beauty

What quality makes a person beautiful?

"Beauty is only skin deep," Anne Frank wrote in her diary.  That is true.  One of my own quotes is, There is no such thing as gender, race, creed, abilities, physical traits, or social class, but there is such thing as personality. We need to plunge the surface: the interior is more important.  A quote I like is, Be cheerful! Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.  Good personalities are what really make people beautiful.

A few years ago, I receieved the following messages on e-mail:

Exercise

The Doctor recommended exercise, to help my body heal,
He said to walk a mile a day, just to see how I would feel.
And if I dropped a pound or so, that would be a bonus plan.
So I thought about his kind advice, that skinny little man.

I joined the Ladies Fitness Club it’s really close at hand,
I got all the right equipment, shorts, shoes and nice wide headband.
I took my water bottle and towel in case I felt a little hot,
I was prepared to give my all, and my all is quite a lot.

Before the class began I had to take all the tests,
My blood pressure, my weight, oh no, and then my pulse at rest.
They showed me all the equipment that makes the body fit,
Now I was set to get in shape, a week or two should do it.

I huffed and puffed my way upstairs, "That’s where you change", she said.
It was forty minutes later and I wish I’d stayed in bed,
I even lost a pound or two, doing all those sports,
Stretching, pulling, tugging, that was getting in my spandex shorts.

So I hopped on this machine, a gentle stroll, it said,
As the belt goes round I walked and walked my ‘Walkman’ on my head.
It started going faster, and faster, faster still,
My thumb was on the button that clearly said, "Down Hill"

Next I tried the gym, and laid down on my mat,
I moved my legs to music, did push ups, stuff like that,
I rolled around for quite a while this fitness is a breeze,
When I got up to run around, I was stuck there on my knees.

So I went home ate a three course meal, and took a two- hour nap,
I ached all over, and felt like hell yet decided not to flap,
When I awoke I was determined, I knew I was on the right track,
I went straight back to that fitness place, and got my money back.

You see jumping up and down, well that really isn’t me,
A gentle stroll around the block, well, that’s a possibility,
Yet when I look into the mirror, and notice parts of me that bounce,
I may have to be content and tell myself, it’s what’s inside that counts.

True Beauty of a Woman
"..What is the true beauty of a woman?  What is it that makes her genuinely attractive? Many feel unattractive because they don’t meet a certain image to which they have aspired.  Others are constantly frustrated in trying to get someone to notice their attractiveness…

We must learn to thank God for who we are.  Don’t be a woman watching television and crying because she doesn’t look like the girl who opened the window in the game show.  You are not supossed to look like that. If God had wanted you to look like that, He would have made you like that.  God will send somebody along who will appreciate you the way you are…

Beauty and sex appeal are not the areas to concentrate on.  When you focus on the wrong areas, you don’t get the right results.  God put some things into the feminine spirit that a man needs more than anything God put on the feminine body.  If a woman knows who she is on the inside, no matter what she looks like, she will have no problem being attractive to a man. If she knows her own self-worth, then when she comes before that man, he will receive her.

The enemy wants you to be so focused on your outer appearance that you won’t recognize  you inner beauty, you inner strength, your inner Glory.  Your real value cannot be bought, applied, added on, hung from your ears, or laid on your neck.  Your real strength is more than outward apparel and adornment for men.  This real thing that causes a man to need you so desperately he can’t leave you is not what is on you, but what is in you.

"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of wives." (I Pet. 3:1)

Understand the word conversation there means life style.  You will not win him through lip-service; you will win him through your lifestyle.  He will see how you are, not what you say.  He will watch how you act.  He will watch your disposition.  A problem for women believers today is that with the same mouth they use to witness, they often curse others.  You cannot witness to and win a man while he sits up and listens to you gossip about others.

You could go broke fixing up the outside and still be lonely and alone. Appreciate the ornaments of God.  Let God give you a new Attitude. Let Him wash everything out of your spirit that is against Him.

Let go of anger, hate, frustration and bitterness.  God wants you unleashed… The inner beauty that makes you valuable to God will also make you valuable to others.  Maybe you think you are unattractive and unworthy.  Nothing could be more untrue.  God painted a wonderful piece of artwork one day.  That painting is you."

I wish I knew the authors of the poem and essay.  They both make a good point that I’ve always agreed with: the inner beauty, personality, is what counts.  The exterior appearance is one of the least important traits, but most overly focused on.  People should work on improving their personalities first before anything else.

That is why when people compliment on my exterior, such as "You’re beautiful," I am not very happy, because the exterior may not tell the truth about my real self.  I used to be glad when people say, "You’re smart," but now the compliments that cheer me up as ones about having good personalities, such as "You’re nice."