Models of Christ

I was recently watching a show about America's top runway models, when I happened upon 1 and 2  Peter in my personal Bible study. In shows with models, the most important thing is maintaining beauty, while personal moral lives seem cast aside for gaining money and fame on the road to a high profile career. Although modeling is an extreme example of women pursuing beauty or career instead of character, even if we as women are not models, we can play the same game in our lives with our dissatisfaction for our looks and the way we forget what God is truly looking for.

In 1 Peter 3: 3-4, Peter points out: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

In Peter's time period, wealthy women were following the Gospel message, but were still following the ways of the world. Their extravagant plaited, knotted, and braided hair styles often took hours to complete, with weaving in of pearls in strands of hair in order to present themselves as flashy; the same went for their gold jewelry and rare clothes: everything pointed to the abundance of their possessions and their focus on something other than God. Yet God calls for us as women to dig past these temporal surface layers of beauty and cultivate the beauty of our inner person in order to truly emulate him.

I like how the KJV translates verse 4; instead of calling it 'your inner self', this version uses the term, 'the hidden man of the heart'. The people of this world who do not know our Savior falsely think that the best way to succeed TODAY is to become beautiful externally. The thought is tempting and even addictive. I know I struggle with this daily, every time I look at pictures of myself, other women, or flip through magazines of airbrushed models. Yet 2 Peter 3:17 paints a different picture of these 'false prophets' of today, with their appearance of godliness but their rashness of truth (2 Tim. 3:1-5):

"They promise [the weak-willed] freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved."

Have you ever seen a model enslaved by an eating disorder, unable to break free from the sad bondage of their illness and deprecating self image? Perhaps even less extreme, have you ever felt that very bondage yourself of needing affirming messages and 'likes' from friends before being content that you look okay? We seek it by posting new pictures, wearing new clothing, telling others we look terrible without make-up, and attaching ourselves in addiction to fashion shows.

God, instead, sees the highest form of beauty as the woman who turns her eyes to his glory and finds herself lost in his creation and holiness, gently submitting to others in servanthood and the meekness of the 'hidden man of the heart'.