You see, when God first created man and woman, we were able to reflect God because we were created in His image. But then something happened. The ugliness of sin entered and distorted that once very good image. The mirror is shattered. We are still made in God's image. We still reflect our Creator, but because of sin, we're broken and shattered.
How does a Christian woman raise her daughter to reflect God's image in a shattered and broken world? Eve was perfectly beautiful and had no need for clothing or make-up before the fall. But after her image was distorted due to sin, she became naked and ashamed.
The story picks up again with each one of us moms. We're trying to reflect God's image. We're trying to show our daughter we can glorify God in how we adorn ourselves. But there's a battle of the mirrors. Our daughters are looking into the mirror of the world. The world's mirror says beauty is only external. That you must show off the body parts men find attractive to be beautiful. The world says you have to follow our trends to be fashionable. You must look like us or you'll be ugly.
Then there's God's mirror. This is the mirror that seems less attractive. It's not popular like the world's mirror. God's mirror may not get a lot of likes and comments. In reality, many people don't take the time to even look in God's mirror. But this is the mirror we as Christian moms are placing in front of our daughters. We want them to see beauty from God's vantage point.
God-fashioned woman. God wants us to be beautiful. God wants us to take care our external appearance and to adorn ourselves. God says in I Peter 3:3-4:
"Your adornment must not be merely external — braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."
God tells us our adornment should not be merely external. That means it should be external, but don't stop there. That's where the world's idea of beauty stops. God goes on to say that our beauty should be the internal beauty of a woman's heart and character. God also says in Proverbs 31:30:
"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."
If we look at God's truth, we should praise a woman for loving and serving God rather than her beauty. The fact that beauty is vain means it is fleeting. It's not negative, just a fact. So why spend so much time, money, and effort on the beauty that is fleeting?
What's beautiful and trendy? Well, it depends on what mirror you're looking into. The world's mirror says showing off your body for attention and praise is trendy. But God's mirror — the Bible — says that your character should be what shines far above your outward appearance.
Does being modest mean we have to dress plain and drab? Oh no! God-fashioned women, being beautiful and fashionable is a part of who we are. But sadly, in our culture today, fashion and beauty are centered around sex. By how we dress, does it cause a man to think about sex or to have lustful thoughts? We all know the body parts men lust after. If we highlight those body parts or blatantly show them off, we are causing our neighbor to stumble. This should not be.
Being fashionably modest means drawing attention to our character, not our body parts. Is your smile the first thing people notice or your uncovered body parts?
Teach your daughter to enjoy beauty and fashion — by your example first. Glorify God in your body and be fashioned for Christ!
