What do you think would happen if we spent as much time checking our attitude as we spend checking out ourselves in the mirror? How would our days be different if we worked on our attitude and outlook as much as we work on our hair, makeup and wardrobe before leaving the house each day?
We (especially we women) spend so much time, effort and money on our outward physical appearance. Getting our hair cut, colored, curled, straightened. Having our nails filed, painted, tipped. Choosing just the right shade of lipstick, lipgloss, lipbalm. And forget trying to pick out an outfit. The amount of time some of us spend on our appearance each day is ridiculous. And for what? So we can "impress" someone? So we can be attractive? And for whom?
Yes, it's true that man looks - and more often than not judges - our outer appearance. Trust me, I know. If I'm ever in shorts or a skirt, it's quickly obvious to anyone who sees me that I'm wearing a prosthesis. For 36 years I've gotten the looks and the stares. I've heard the whispers and I've seen the pointing fingers. Our outward appearance is what people see first and often use to sum us up before they've ever even met us. And yes, that's why we spend so much time and money on our physical appearance. We want to look good.
But while man sees our outward appearance, God sees our heart. He looks beyond our hairstyle and makeup and sees what's on our heart and in our minds. He sees so much more than our cosmetics and prosthetics. He sees the real us. So why then don't we spend as much time primping our attitude and manicuring our mindset as we spend picking out our outfit? We don't have time for that, we tell ourselves. Well, no - not after we've spent an hour trying to get our lip pencil line perfectly straight and assuring that our mascara isn't smeared! But time with God shouldnt' come after we've completed all of our other tasks. It should be first and foremost in our minds and on our schedules.
God's opinion of us is the only opinion that truly matters. We shouldn't care if someone thinks our haircut isn't flattering, or if a certain skirt makes our hips look wider than they really are. Yet we spend so much time on these physical matters and are often slack when it comes to spending time with God working on our attitude. I'm not saying you should go out without makeup. And I'm not saying you shouldn't wear nice clothes. The Bible teaches us to adorn ourselves. Wives should make themselves beautiful for their husbands. But all the more so we should make our minds beautiful for Christ. What good does it do us (or those around us) if we're impeccably dressed, our hair and makeup are perfect, our jewelry is sparkling, but our attitude stinks? We can be absolutely gorgeous on the outside, but if we're dark and dirty and ugly on the inside what are we accomplishing?
Remember, man looks on the outer appearance but God looks on the heart. So the next time you start to ask, "How do I look?" or "Does this dress make my butt look big?", ask yourself first how your attitude is making you look. And remember which one matters the most.
"The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” ~ I Samuel 16:7
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." ~ Ephesians 4:22-24
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