Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

On the outside it was not a beautiful cake; one could tell it was not done by a pro.  But the inside was scrumptious when I tasted the batter----real butter, eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, coconut, sugar, flour----and the outside was equally divine:  butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, walnuts.  The outside was every bit as decadent as the ingredients on the inside, but it wasn't "Cake Wars" worthy.  I was worried as I drove to deliver the cake to the client.  I shouldn't have been.  She knew the inside was far more valuable, because what is the purpose of the cake?  To sit and gaze at or to EAT?  It's the inside that truly matters.

So it is with us as humans.  1 Peter 3:3-4 cautions,
                           "Your beauty should not consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles
                      and the wearing of gold ornaments or fine clothes.  Instead, it should consist
                      of what is inside the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet
                      spirit, which is very valuable in God's eyes."

Our society has everything mixed up.  We have a celebrity like Miley Cyrus named one of the most intriguing people of the year, hang on everything the Kardashians do, and brushstroke models in magazines so young girls think they have to strive to be anorexic to be beautiful.  Once we reach a "certain age," we are deemed old and unattractive.....in society's eyes....and our society is driven by Hollywood.

God tells us in 1 Samuel 16:7:  "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

And, finally, Proverbs 20:29:  "The glory of young men is their strength; and the beauty of old men is the gray head."

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Show your beauty with your actions.