Want Outward Beauty? Start on the Inside

How much time, and money do you spend on appearance? I must confess that I can pull myself together if needed in about 15 minutes. However, I like to have about 30 minutes to an hour. That is if I have already taken care of the nails, shaving, washing hair, skin buffing, eyebrows, etc. All that is done at other times. 

Recently Joey and I joined YMCA. You know how that works, You pay $$$ per month for the use of their gym equipment. So you spend at least 30 minutes but more like 1 hour plus 3-5 days a week working and sweating to rid ourselves of what Chonda Pierce  calls the mushroom top. 

On top of all that we live in a culture where billions of dollars are spent yearly on health and beauty aids. I spent some time at our local pharmacy and one could literally spend their paycheck if they purchase  all sorts of "remedies" for fat, cellulite, wrinkles, nail fungus, unwanted hair, and yellowed teeth, that is on the market to make one look young and beautiful. Do they work??? Maybe, maybe not but we always hope that a new formula will be created that will form the magical transformation. 

Well we are talking about our outward appearance not to mention all the stuff we spend to detoxify our system, rid our arteries of cholesterol, give us extra energy, help our eyesight, aid in digestion and elimination of food. 

What is so interesting is that the outward appearance of a person may not reflect what or who that person really is. I heard a quote once,  "Beauty is as Beauty does," or "Beauty is only skin deep." I Samuel 16: 7 God says to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance of his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

What about the inward us, who we really are. How much time do we as Christians spend in keeping our spiritual self healthy and becoming. Would I be wrong if I suggested that most spend any where from 1-3 hours a week which consist of  corporate worship at church on Sunday and Wednesday. For some they find time to squeeze in maybe a 10-15 minute devotion each day of the week to add another 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Have you ever known a person whose outward physical appearance was not so appealing yet they were a beautiful person. Then you have seen a beautiful physically attractive person with a terrible attitude and character be just obnoxious and difficult to be around. Wouldn't our world be different if we spent as much time on the inward as the outward?

As you begin this new year, consider spending time on the heart things, those things that will develop faith and character. I am The Daily Bible: In Chronological Order 365 Daily Readings. What have you found that is mysteriously making your spiritual heart more beautiful?