Beauty is Vain, But What Kind of Beauty?

Have you ever thought about the way you look when you go out and meet people? I like to get nice clothes on when I go out anywhere, whether just to the store or out to eat. People don't want to look like a bum with holey clothes when they go to a business meeting.

We worry about what type of clothes we wear on the outside, but shouldn't we think about the way we dress ourselves on the inside too? The Bible says the Lord looks on the inside at our hearts. It doesn't matter if we have the nicest, most expensive clothes in the whole world, or if we are dressed in a dingy, holey old t-shirt and jeans. God looks at the heart, not at the outward appearance. If you look at 1 Samuel, you will see that God does not see as man sees, but He looks at the heart:

1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

One of my favourite verses, and the inspiration for this article, is in Proverbs, chapter 31, verse 30.

Proverbs 31:30,
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Would you rather have that kind praise, praise the Proverbs 31 Woman received, that you will be remembered for, instead of the earthly praise most people get today? I know I would.


There are two kinds of beauties. The first beauty (your spiritual beauty) I would describe as this - the inner beauty, which is the mind, the heart, and the spirit. This beauty shows more, I think, than even your worldly beauty. It shows in your true character no matter how nice your clothes are on the outside. If you are full of hate, meanness, unkindness, and un-loving towards people, it will show when you speak and the way you treat people.

It is important to have a Godly character and a loving spirit because it will also show in your worldly beauty, which is your second beauty. If you love God and want to follow His commandments, then it will show in your face, manner in which you speak, and how you act. I do not always act as Jesus did, but I am trying to act as my Saviour did. He wants us to act as though He was standing here, watching all of our movements. He also knows all your thoughts. We should remember Psalm 139:17, which says,

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

Because the Lord does know every thought that we think. We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that

5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Remember that you are not the only one who knows what you are thinking. There is One whose ears reach even the mind.

The second beauty (your worldly beauty) - outer beauty, the clothes you wear, how you speak, and what you do with your outer beauty. I think a lot of your inside beauty shows in the way you dress and speak. If you wore modest clothing that is not-to-tight, but dressy enough, people would think you modest. But I know when I go to Wal-Mart and see girls dressed in mini-skirts and spaghetti-strapped tank tops, I think they aren't modest.

I try to wear a skirt whenever I can, especially out in public. The only pants I own are my jeans and my sweat pants which are for barn work. I do have a couple of pajama pants, but I usually wear a skirt to bed. Another verse I love to repeat to myself, and which helps me to remember that Love is more powerful than anything else is in 1 Corinthians. Take a look for yourself, and see if you know it:

1 Corinthians 13:1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (which is love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

If you were the most beautiful person on the face of the earth, and had people admiring you and wanting to be just like you, would it profit you anything if you did not have love?

If you look a little further down in the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, you will find this verse:

3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

If you don't have love, you are basically nothing. Think about this. If Jesus had not had loved us as much as He did, would we still have the Saving Grace that we have today? If He had not had that love, do you think He would have suffered so much pain and died on a cross for all of us sinners? No, we would still be lost without the lovingkindness He showed for us. He humbled Himself lower than the lowest sinner, and showed us such love that His Father in heaven shed a tear for Him. It makes me want to cry when I think of how spiteful, mean, revile, hateful, and unloving I act and that Jesus gave up sitting up on His glorious throne, to come down and die for my sins.


We can have all the beauty in the world, but if we have not charity, we are nothing. We become only a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol. I don't want my words to only sound as an instrument that is so commonly heard, but I want it speak out, be different from others' voices. If we act as our Lord and Saviour, then our voices and actions will ring out against those of the world. Help me as I walk this Narrow Path, and may I be also a help to you in your Narrow Path. :)

It is important to make sure our outward appearance is

A closing verse to think on,

1 Corinthians 13:13
13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

God bless you and may He keep you and guide you in the paths you tread. :) God Bless You!