THE BEAUTY FACTOR

We all fall victims of going to one of two extremes: either beauty is magnified above its God given role as a gift to the creature or it is vilified as being unspiritual or worldly.

Men, especially delight in beauty; it pleases them, and almost every man has beauty as part of the qualities he looks out for in a wife. However, listing beauty as a quality you look out for in a life partner is met with lengthy advice; the common statement being “charm is deceptive, and beauty is fading . . .” The Akans will tell you, “yennfa ahoofe nko aware” which literally means, we don’t base on beauty to marry.

We are created beautiful 

As much as we are cautioned not to place much emphasis on outer beauty, we cannot also neglect the fact that we are created beautiful by God, beautiful in all areas; our height, weight, stature, speech, shape etc. and this beauty is to be adored and appreciated.

From the Bible, Adam no doubt saw Eve to be a very beautiful woman; Sarah’s beauty was not doubted; Rebekah was very beautiful; Rachel had a beautiful figure; Esther was lovely and beautiful; Abigail was a woman of intelligence/sense and beautiful countenance, and the virtuous woman’s beauty cannot be overlooked.

Men are not exempted; they were also addressed to be beautiful. Absalom was the most praised in all Israel for his beauty; Moses was a beautiful child, and Joseph was a handsome young man.

As much as we are also created beautiful by God, it is important for us to know that our good character makes us attractive. In fact, I have met a lot of people who looked very “attractive and beautiful”, but upon realizing their “ugly” character, it took away their beauty. Likewise, I have met others who didn’t look “beautiful and attractive”, but upon continuous encounter with their lovely character, they appeared very “beautiful and attractive.”

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder

We all have different interpretations of beauty; we see beauty from different angles. I spoke to a young man who was in search of a life partner. He told me he was looking for a lady with dimples that can even contain a bucket of water. To another, he was looking for one with that curvy “coca cola” bottle shape.

Some regard light-skinned people as more beautiful than the dark-skinned ones. To others, you can’t compare anything to what they call black beauty. Some talk about “slim things”, others talk about “obolo”. Some even use people’s smile to define their beauty.

There are those who also see beauty in people’s mannerisms. They see beauty in modest dressing, good speech, gentleness, respect and submission.

Truly, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Creating a balance

However, we need to create balance, and there is a balance concerning beauty in the Bible. On one hand, there is to be a primary focus on inner beauty, but that is not to the exclusion of outer beauty, and yet we are warned not to look only at outer beauty (1Tim.2:9-10; 1Pet.3:3-5). This is because if outer beauty lacks inner beauty, it is deceptive.

A common Akan axiom says “w’ahoofe de wo beko, wo suban de wo beba”, literally, your beauty will send you, and your character will bring you back. Outer beauty might have the attraction power, but inner beauty has the retention power!

Your inner beauty is meant to be verification that your outer beauty is not deceptive but genuine.