***I Can Always Find Someone that has Better Skin than Me.
***I Can Always Find Someone that has Worse Skin than Me.
***I Can Obsess About My Skin – And Only See the Flaws.
How true do these statements tend to be?! Have you ever felt pretty good when leaving your house, then you see someone that maybe has on a really cute outfit, or cute hairstyle, or their makeup/skin looks flawless…..what do we immediately feel? If we are honest, probably a little “less than”, or like we are “just not good at picking outfits or putting on makeup”, or maybe even “if I had more money, I could look better”.
Let’s course correct. This post is to not “build you up” necessarily or encourage you in thinking that you are enough…..because let me tell you, short of Jesus you most certainly are NOT ENOUGH! That is a very counter-cultural message I realize, and please understand my heart in typing these words. If we are getting our worth in being “enough” and it relates to our performance, or our looks, or our money…..those things will not and do not measure up. That is a foundation of “enoughness” that I want no part of!
Why do you think the enemy wants you to fall for the lie that “you are enough” and “you got this girl”……..these are not truths we want to build our foundation on…..our adversary (the devil) wants to see you crumble – he is not for you – he is indeed our adversary. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
Did you get that? He wants to devour you…..and he does it NOT in a way we will recognize and be on guard – he does it through vain deceit. And we tend to fall for the lies…..hook, line, and sinker!
So we leave our house and we WILL see people that likely 1. Look better than us 2. Look worse than us 3. Cause us to think on ourselves more than we should.
God made each of us unique. We have different hair, different bone structure, different body types, some have significant health issues, some struggle with true physical abnormalities…..many many many things that are simply out of our control. Or maybe we do have a little bit of “control” so to speak, but it can be awfully overwhelming to lose weight, it can be awfully overwhelming to be told in order to clear up your skin you have to eat no sugar or gluten, or because of a certain reaction or allergy you can no longer eat red meat, basically…..you fill in the blank. We ALL have our “things” that are very hard to deal with – though some are certainly much more severe than others.
2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” This verse is referring to when Paul asked not once, not twice, but three times for his “infirmity” whatever it was, to be removed from him….but God did not answer him by taking it away – God said that His grace was sufficient and that because of the weakness, God would strengthen him, and Paul concluded that he would therefore glory in his “weaknesses” basicallly, so that the power of Christ would rest upon him.
I’m not saying those are easy words to live out…..but I AM saying that is a foundation worth building on. The Power of Christ, the Strength of Christ – not when we are no longer weak…..but THROUGH and BECAUSE of our weaknesses. Sometimes he does “remove” our infirmities or heal certain things, sometimes he does not…..I’m soooooo glad it’s not up to us to always decide those things, because I think we would mess it all up!
As we go out “into the world” we are not comparing apples to apples when we simply pick out a pretty stranger, or friend even, and feel down because we feel like we don’t have what she has……and on the flip side of that, maybe we compare and sometimes “puff ourselves up a bit” if we see someone that we are doing better than……and that is sin. If this is where you are, looking around and allowing – maybe not always, but sometimes getting on that roller coaster of building your self worth on a foundation that is not solid….I invite you to think differently.
And not think in a way that will build your worth in your self…..but realize your worth in Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” The “price” He bought you with is His own Son. Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
This means…..while you were yet sinners – before you “cleaned up your life” because here’s the thing…..the only thing that truly “cleans” our life is Christ’s blood He shed on the cross. Your worth, your success is not built on what you “did for yourself”, it is built on – should be built on – what Christ did for you. And that changes EVERYTHING.
So back to how does this relate to skincare? As I stated above, we can always find someone who looks better or worse, we can obsess about our physical imperfections or flaws. How do we get out of this vicious cycle and think differently than what culture encourages?
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” I believe it starts with looking to God and not ourselves.
Stewardship…….realizing that it’s not all up to us is a very freeing thing indeed, however, it is dangerous to think that nothing we do matters, because that is swinging the pendulum too far the other way. We are to be good stewards of everything we have…..which includes our bodies.1 Corinthians 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
There ARE things we can do. So today….no looking back, because that can suck us down into a lot of discouragement about the “would have, could have, should haves”…..no looking back today – pressing forward. Make the most of where you are at – as it pertains to skin, do what you can to steward it well, realize your worth is in Christ. As you take steps to maybe improve your skincare, or work toward healthier skin – take beginning pictures so you can see your PERSONAL improvement. Not compared to others. Maybe you are in your 20s and have the amazing ability to start “investing” in healthy skin now – that is great!
Maybe you are like me and in your 40s and feel like you really should have done something 20 years ago….that’s ok too….it sounds cliche, but it really is never too late to learn and do better!
Maybe you are in your 70s or 80s and feel like it’s hopeless….here’s the thing – you can still nourish your skin and have a glowing look – I truly feel that way – but it HAS to go hand in hand with your heart….your inward countenance shining outward! That is what I want to encourage you to focus on today!
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