Stepping barefoot into dried, brown soil, I cut a rose off our blooming rose bush. Having just starting blooming a few days ago, this bush is currently a very impressive display of vibrant red roses, and bright pink roses. Sitting down in the grass, I looked over the rose I had picked and smiled at its beauty. The rose was a gorgeous dark red, so red it could almost be called purple. But, until I looked closer, I hadn’t noticed pink camouflaged bugs crawling on the inside of the rose. The outside was magnificent, but, as it turned out, the inside was filthy with bugs.
Sometimes, we try to look beautiful on the outside. We want to be pleasing to the human eye, and we can get so carried doing this, that we forget what really matters--being pleasing to God on the inside. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, 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.” Yes, you have beauty. But your beauty should come from the inside, the beauty of an unfading, gentle, and quiet spirit, not from anything on the outside. If you truly want to please God, stop comparing your outward beauty to others and start considering how your inside looks. For what’s the use of only being beautiful on the outside?
Kayla Joy
