How Do I Look?
Psalm 139:14 declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Many Christians associate this verse with their pro-life beliefs. It makes sense as the verse before it mentions “thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” This and other verses just means to us that life begins at conception.
Recently though, I have wondered if it isn’t more than just when life begins.
Could it be the context of Psalm 139:14 is the incredible nature of our physical bodies? The human body is unique, the most complex organism in the world, and that complexity and uniqueness speak volumes about the mind of its Creator. Every aspect of the body, down to the tiniest microscopic cell, reveals that it is fearfully and wonderfully made.
Could it be though to be content with how we’re made as well? That our worth is not in our looks?
A small look into plastic research was a surprise for me:
- 1,620,736: Number of surgical plastic surgery procedures performed in 2002
- 5,268,795: Number of non-surgical procedures performed in 2002
- Top five plastic surgery procedures performed: liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty, breast reduction
- From 1997 to 2001: 304% increase in cosmetic procedures
- Baby boomers 35-50: largest section of the population with the most procedures performed
- Ten billion dollars: annual expenditure on cosmetics
There are several shows on TV that seem to kidnap unsuspecting souls into a makeover. They throw away the people’s clothing, they scrutinize their hair, make-up, and closets until you just feel so sorry for them. Likely I should take more care of my personal appearance, because when I see my daughter watching these shows, I tell her, “Please don’t ever do that to me.” She makes no promises.
At the sheer number of these televisions shows, I wonder if as a culture these days, we haven’t taken these makeovers into the extreme?
I hope one day, we can appreciate each others uniqueness and to see to experience renewal inwardly, where true transformation really occurs.
I absolutely hate those fashion-police style shows, where they come in, rip through your closet, throw it all away, and tell you “sorry, what you’re comfortable in isn’t good enough.” I mean, I wish my parents would update their clothing style, but really it’s their own decision. I think I dress reasonably well, but I’m sure a few of my female friends would jump at the chance to empty my closet and make me start over.
Why can’t people just live and let live?
Well said! I was just thinking of that passage last week. It is a classic pro-life passage, but there is so much more to it.