Beneath the Make-Up, Fake Tan and Implants

dec 10

By Molly Eggleston | Guest Blogger

A couple of days ago, I was waiting in line at Target and picked up a magazine to skim through. Immediately after seeing pictures of models and celebrities, I began the body-bashing: I would kill for that body; I wish I had a stomach that flat; I wish my thighs were that toned. The images shown in the magazine did an excellent job of bringing out my insecurities and I had a brand new diet and exercise routine planned by the time it was my turn to check out. After I got back to my car, I had a light-bulb moment that striving for that kind of superficial beauty is never going to make me happy. I was amazed that for so long, these magazines and similar images in the media had so much power over me.

You can probably guess where I’m going with this, the images of men and women that we see in magazines are not real. This is very true, but not the point I want to get across. When looking at magazines, body bashing begins because we don’t believe we are beautiful and we desire beauty. Who doesn’t want to be absolutely gorgeous? We experience insecurity because we feel like we will never measure up to the fake images we see in the media or because we compare ourselves with others. We didn’t come out of the womb incredible insecure. We have been taught to be insecure and to chase after a superficial beauty that will supposedly give us a happy life. We all have a desire for beauty and to be beautiful. Media images and advertisements are experts at distorting this desire. Striving for this superficial beauty will NEVER bring us true happiness.

After struggling with body image almost my entire life and battling several issues with food, my weight and my appearance, I realized that beauty is not something that is achieved or earned through dieting, excessive makeup, or immodest clothing. Every person is beautiful because they are a human being made in the image and likeness of God! Beauty is not defined by your weight or your clothes size; it is inherent because you are a child of God. And giving in to the fake, empty beauty of our society today will not make you more beautiful. You can become more beautiful by becoming more virtuous and building your character. Giving in to false beauty will not and can never bring you true happiness, only God can fill that void.

Does trying to shape your body into one cookie-cutter image of perfection really bring you freedom and fulfill your every wish?  

P.S. You are enough.

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