Confession: (Gulp.) I used to think it was all about me.
Ouch. That hurts my heart just to write it.
For all of you sweet readers out there that perhaps did not watch me grow up (or grow up with me for that matter) let me explain just a bit. I wasn’t the fashionable girl. (And I’m still not- although I received some coaching in this department in college—thanks Kally.) I wasn’t the super-duper popular girl. (And I am still not. Which I am ok with—being popular looks like a lot of work.) However, I was the overachieving girl who always wanted to be “the funny one.”
Being funny was my way of getting attention. (Plus it was a way for people to see my personality instead of my overweight teenage body.) Overachieving was my way of getting attention for “good things.” Me, me, me—it was all about me. My plans. My schedule. My life.
And then Jesus thumped me (lovingly, of course) between the eyes.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the last few years is that there is a pretty big difference between focusing our attention on looking good as opposed to looking to God.
It’s a challenging line to walk. And a line that probably many of us struggle with.
I’m not saying that we all need to toss out our favorite pair of cute shoes, boycott make-up, and start wearing yoga pants/sweatshirts for the rest of our lives as we sit all day and read the word. (Although some days I think that WOULD be pretty awesome.) I am still an advocate of “Look good, feel good, do good” days, especially when anticipating a big event like taking a test, speaking to a group of people or doing a presentation. God is our creator, and He made us uniquely and wonderfully and beautifully—we can definitely rejoice in that.
The challenge comes when we start RELYING on ourselves, as in our name brand jeans, bajillion dollar hairstyle or numbers on the scale to be our everything. God is our everything—and in everything, we can look TO Him, knowing that if we trust Him, we won’t just look good, but might in fact inspire others to look towards God.
In two days, I have my first-ever opportunity to preach—yeah, like from the pulpit, bringing the message for two different services. As I have grown as a minister, speaker and Christian, I have come to the realization that GOD is the one who is going to do the work. My goal is not for ME to look good—but rather I deeply desire for those listening to the message to be inspired to look to God.
When we share our faith or live our lives with Christ as the center of it all—people don’t just see us looking good… they see God being glorified.
Is God the center of your everything? In what ways do you struggle with balancing looking good vs. encouraging others to look to God? How does God’s glory shine through you on a daily basis? Leave a comment below.
When we share the love of Christ with others, we don’t need to spend hours dabbing our face with layers of make-up and sobbing over our inability to choose an outfit… instead we can let God do our grooming, knowing that if people see the light of Christ shining through us, then no amount of make-up, weight loss or high heeled-shoes could make us more beautiful than Christ does at that very moment.
When we look to God—it is then that we look our best.
Beauty in Christ,
SGK
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” ~Psalm 105:4
