Cosmetic Enhancement of Inner Beauty

Last weekend I was in a clothing store, trying on jeans.  From behind my closed dressing room door, I overheard a conversation.  I didn’t really mean to eavesdrop, but it’s kind of hard to NOT hear what someone in the next dressing room is saying.  Anyway, the gist of it was that a young woman was trying on dresses for an upcoming event.  She didn’t like any of the dresses and the older woman, whom I presumed to be her mother, was getting frustrated.  They had been to several stores before this one.  The mother remarked that the young woman was being too picky and that she had several beautiful gowns from which to choose.  The young woman grunted and I could hear the exasperation in her exhale. 

Stepping out of my dressing room, I glanced to the left to see the young woman standing in front of the full-length mirror at the end of the room.  She was wearing a long, black, gown and she looked stunning.    Her mother stood behind her with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. 

“What’s wrong with this one?!”  She demanded.

“Nothing.  Everything.  The same thing.”  The young woman then burst into tears, covered her face with her hands and rushed back into her dressing room.

The mother begrudgingly followed.

Their conversation from that point forward was heart-wrenching, and I found myself saying a prayer for the younger woman as I tiptoed out of the dressing room.  The young woman wasn’t unhappy with the dress selection, she was unhappy with her body.  She had very small breasts and felt she was unable to fill out the dresses in the manner in which they were designed to be worn.  Her mother thought she was being ridiculous.  At one point, the young woman sobbed and said she was going to get implants; wherein the mother told her that messing with the body God gave her would be sinful.  She said, “it’s a sin even thinking about it!”

The hair on the back of my neck stood erect.  I wanted to say something, but I knew it wasn’t my place.  Still, I left the store feeling irked and flushed with anger. 

Cosmetic surgery is NOT sinful.  God doesn’t care whether you have small breasts or large ones.  He’s more concerned with what lies behind your breasts….your heart.  If there is something about your body that causes you to sob when you look in the mirror, then fix it if you can.  If something about your appearance has become a self-degrading weapon, get rid of it if you can.  If you have the means to make yourself feel better about YOU, then do it. 

The market is flooded with acne medication.  Is it sinful to use it?  I mean, God gave you the skin you have, right?  Rubbing acne medication on your skin or taking an anti-acne pill changes the dynamic of your skin, right?  So, is it wrong  to do it?  NO!  So, why is cosmetic surgery any different?

Both are forms of vanity….but here’s a reality check.  We are ALL vain; and to some degree we should be.  As my aunt says, “Vain people look better.”  It’s okay to care about your appearance.  It’s okay to want to look good and feel good about how you look.   Just don’t let it become the most important thing in your life….because true beauty shines from the inside out. 

That being said, there is nothing wrong with enhancing the outside package.  If there is something about your body that bothers you….then look into having it changed.  I know women who have had face lifts, implants, tummy tucks, nose jobs, liposuction, etc.  We tuck it, pluck it, hide it, lift it, minimize it, plump it, paint it, and suck it in, etc.; all for beauty’s sake.    So, whatever you have to do to feel good about yourself and your appearance, do it. 

Just remember that inner beauty is what really matters... and there's nothing wrong with cosmetically enhancing it.  ~