Biblical Beauty Tips
Saturday, February 11th, 2012The audio portion of this broadcast is no longer available on-line.
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Send to friendI wonder how many books and articles have been written on how to be beautiful, how to stay young, how to look good? It’s a topic most of us care about. I want to give you some beauty tips—and these are for men as well as women. I promise you, these are guaranteed to improve how you look to others.
First, let’s talk about beauty tips for your lips. For years I have prayed David’s prayer in Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” I often visualize two guards—one of each side of my mouth—keeping watch over what comes out of my lips. I can tell you that this is one of my greatest challenges, to let God control the words from my lips.
Our lips have the power to speak words of life or death, and if you want to really improve how you look to others, the first place to start is by guarding the words that come out of your lips. I find that I must be intentional about this; I must be aware of what I say and I must consciously remember to speak words of encouragement and kindness.
Here are some guidelines I try to remember:
- If you think something complimentary or encouraging about someone, speak what you’re thinking. Whether it’s a stranger or the person dearest to you, be sure to speak the kind words you think. Recently I was eating in a busy fast-food place, and I noticed one woman who was outstanding in her attitude and service to the customers. I just made it a point to tell her how impressed I was with her. Why not? She deserved those words of encouragement. But let’s not forget those closest to us—like your children, or your mate, or your co-workers. They need to hear kind words from us, too.
- Don’t speak words that don’t have to be spoken. Proverbs 17:27 tells us that one who has knowledge uses words with restraint. In other words, if you’re smart, you won’t talk too much. I often remind myself that I don’t have to say everything I’m thinking!
- Speak words of praise to God out loud anytime you can. Let your ears hear words of praise coming from your lips. In Psalm 119 the Psalmist says, “May my lips overflow with praise.” When your lips overflow with praise, they are beautiful lips! And this is one way to encourage yourself. Speak words of praise, even if your heart is heavy. It will make a difference.
So, my first beauty tip is to make your lips beautiful by speaking words of life. Words are the fruit of your lips, so “let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).
Here’s another beauty tip for your eyes. Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23). Jesus uses an obvious illustration about eyes to explain the importance of spiritual eyesight. When our physical eyes function properly, we can see whatever is visible. But poor eyesight means that images are distorted and we are seeing the world around us with poor perception.
The kind of beautiful eyes we need are what I call “Forever Eyes,” the ability to see our circumstances, our worlds, and the people in our worlds from an eternal perspective. When our eyes are Forever Eyes, they make our whole body bright. This kind of eyesight helps us see people the way Jesus sees them, enables us to be compassionate and loving toward others because we see them through Forever Eyes. It gives us a right perspective of the circumstances of our lives, and keeps us from being obsessed by things that don’t really matter.
I well remember a time when I worked for a difficult manager and I just kept trying to get out of that job. Finally God made it clear that he had me there, working for that difficult person, for a reason. God wanted to change me! So, for the first time I began to pray that God would help me see this man the way God saw him—to see him through Forever Eyes. I have to tell you that changing the focus of my eyes changed me overnight, and from that day forward I was able to have compassion for this man.
Beautiful eyes are those that see from God’s perspective rather than from a selfish one. How do you get Forever Eyes? You pray them on each day. For those of us who wear glasses or contacts, we have to put them on each day in order to see clearly. Well, the same is true for Forever Eyes. Each morning you pray for God to give you Forever Eyes for that day.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. . .” That’s a good way to start your day. Pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened so you can see through God’s eyes. Then, I promise, you will have beautiful eyes!
Here’s another important beauty tip, and that concerns your posture. I can remember as a teenager my mom often telling me, “Mary, stand up straight!” She recognized how important posture is in how people see you. If you walk or sit with your shoulders straight and your head held high, you definitely present a much more attractive appearance.
Well, what should our posture be as God’s people? We need to stand up straight and firm on the sure foundation of God’s Word. That means, of course, we have to continually be learning truth from God’s Word through Bible study. Are you involved in some kind of intentional, focused study of God’s Word, either on your own or in a small group? If not, why not? If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, there really can’t be a good excuse for not studying the Bible.
A Christian’s posture should be one of standing firm because of what Christ has done for us. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 40:2-3: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” You know, when you’ve been taken out of the world’s slimy pit and given a firm place to stand, your posture should be one of praise and joy, and as a result many should recognize what God has done for you.
A Christian’s posture should be one of standing straight and firm even when life is hard. Proverbs 10:25 says, “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.” Do you have a posture of standing firm in the midst of life’s storms?
This biblical beauty tip is to make sure you have good posture: Stand firm in your faith; let nothing move you. Remember: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).
If I said, “I’m going to have a mani and a pedi,” would you know what I meant? I think most of us women would know the shorthand we use for manicures and pedicures. That’s what we do to keep our hands and our feet looking good. Well, as your beauty consultant with beauty tips from the Bible, I want to tell you how you can keep your hands really beautiful.
Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord.”
As parents we had to frequently remind our children when they were young to wash their hands, because dirty hands carry germs and that can cause illness. The same is true for us spiritually; we need to frequently “wash our hands” and make sure that we keep our hearts pure. You do that by confessing your sins willingly and regularly, keeping short accounts with the Lord, so that your heart is pure.
Beautiful hands are hands that reach out to help others. In describing the ideal woman, Proverbs 31 says, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” In the last months God has really been convicting me of the importance of reaching out to those who are hungry, those who are in bondage and slavery, right here in our own country as well as far off. Throughout Scripture again and again we are told to take care of the poor and the orphan, the widow and the oppressed. Hands that help those who are needy are the most beautiful hands. What have you done recently to help the poor and needy?
Beautiful hands are busy hands. Proverbs 12:24 says that “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” The Bible further says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecc. 9:10).
And lastly, our hands should be used to praise the Lord. Psalm 47:1: “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” And Psalm 134:2: “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.” Paul wrote to young Timothy: “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” Our hands should be used to praise the Lord.
And how about your feet? Are they beautiful? Now, I admit that I don’t think of feet as being beautiful—certainly not my feet. But the Bible describes beautiful feet in Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!
For beautiful feet we must use our feet to tell the good news that Jesus has come to bring peace and salvation; to be bold in proclaiming that our God reigns and he is Lord of heaven and earth. Wherever your feet take you each day, are you finding opportunities to bring good news and proclaim salvation? That is what makes feet beautiful.
Proverbs 4:26 says, “Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.” We are responsible for the paths that our feet take. Level paths would take us to church regularly, to fellowship with other believers, to people and places who will edify us and build us up.
I think of how easily I can choose a path of convenience, or a path of self-glory, or a path of laziness, or a path of wasted time. Those are not firm paths, but they look very inviting sometimes, don’t they?
David wrote: “My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped.” And as long as he made level paths for his feet, that was true. However, on one occasion he chose a wrong path—the path of adultery. His commitment to keep his feet from slipping was overcome by his passion and his feet slipped. And the consequences of that wrong path were devastating for David and his family.
I recently heard Andy Stanley say that the number one enemy of wisdom is our passion. David had the wisdom to know that he should not take that adulterous path, but he allowed his passion to overrule wisdom.
Proverbs 4:26 and 27 is a warning written by David’s son, Solomon:
Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
And the word of God must be the lamp to our feet and the light for our path. I encourage you today to make sure your feet are beautiful, that they stay on the right path, and they bring good news to the people in your world.
Well, don’t you agree that these biblical beauty tips are the most important?
