More Than Meets the Eye
“7 in 10 girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way…” “92% of all young women in the USA want to change some aspect of their physical appearance.” “Girls who watched TV commercials featuring underweight models lost self-confidence and became more unsatisfied with their own bodies.”
Doesn’t that all just break your heart? The young people of today are being mercilessly attacked everyday with the lie that who they are is simply not good enough. Can you believe that companies and businesses are deceiving youth with such lies simply to gain more profit? I hit the roof when I found out that even school portraits now offer a “retouching” feature to touch up any facial blemishes with airbrushing and even color enhancement. The message: your face isn’t even good enough for your school portrait. The price: $6. Or a lifelong feeling of insignificance and discontentment. Depends on how you see it. Apparently, the $6 is more valuable to the portrait studios.
The world is telling the young people of today that their only value comes from how they look. “Character” has simply vanished from the definition of beauty by the world’s standards. Ads only campaign for perfect bodies, flawless skin tones, amazing smooth hair so they can make people feel insignificant until they get their product and achieve “perfection”. And did you know that a study showed the average North American girl sees 80,000 ads before kindergarten? Don’t you think the message would get across pretty clearly by then? And what’s even more sad is that models you see aren’t even real—tough luck trying to be like something that doesn’t even exist!
Young people today—both guys and girls—have been reduced to simply objects to be judged and criticized. Day by day, our bodies get older and older—everyday is another step closer to the day when our bodies will decay and be no more. The youth of today do not know that. They do not know that one day, they will stand bare before the judge—with no make-up, no gel, no curling iron, no skinny jeans or plaids—and what will be seen in plain view will be the one thing which all these years they have not taken care of—their image that truly matters, their image of God. I shudder to think how that is going to look for a large majority of those living around us.
Youth need to know what really makes them valued, what ultimately will last, and what can be really beautiful, is their image of God they have been generously given. We were created to be spiritual beings by a loving God who doesn’t care what color hair you have, the number of zits you have, how skinny you are—he created all of us out of love, and youth need to know this.
How can we make a difference? Girls and guys, we need to step up and let our lights shine. We ourselves need to first stop valuing ourselves based on appearance, by not spending hours in the bathroom every morning (myself included!), by not caring so much about our clothes, shoes, make-up, etc. We need to be prioritizing the condition of our hearts and our inner self. Furthermore, we need to stop judging others by what we simply see, because we are all guilty of this. Jesus chose to look past surfaces to see what ultimately mattered, and we need to reflect the way Jesus lived and loved by seeing the beauty of those around us even when they cannot. Girls and guys should never, ever feel insecure about the way they look, because they are sons and daughters of the King of Kings, and He created each and every one of them with His very own hands in His image, and He loves them just the way they are. This message needs to be shared with every single person!!
So, instead of reflecting at youth the wrong image the world is bombarding them with, let’s reflect the beauty that comes from within—the beauty God has entrusted us with which will outlast them all.
Kristen Lee, Davis Senior High School, Class of 2012
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Thanks for taking the time to write this article Kristen!
I saw a commercial the other day for a facial cleaner and it portrayed that exact image: that if you look perfect, you will be popular.
Amen to that!
Hey Kristen! thanks for the post. So sad to see so many teenagers sell themselves to these kinds of messages. Fortunately, we have a great God who loves us just the way we are =).
Thanks for the post Kristen, this message really needs to sink deep!
Amen Kristen! Thank you for such a clear explanation of what teenagers (and even older people) face and the right away to approach this whole issue.
What’s even more disturbing is that guys are under the same kind of attack by the rise of the metromale!
Thanks for this post, Kristen! From a young age, we’ve been bombarded with messages telling us what we should look like and how we should act. (I really like the Dove ad “Onslaught” as it illustrates this point well.) We really need to change the way we view ourselves and the way we view others (1 Samuel 16:7).
I cannot agree more!
Agree! We need to focus on what really matters, our inner selves, and help our teens to see value in that also.
You are so right! This does need to be shared with more people. If more people took this message to heart, there would be so much less competition, pain, insecurity, and sadness.
Here’s a scary article from Newsweek about ‘Generation Diva’ – obsessed with body image from a young age and perpetuated by the culture:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/191247
I hope we can start by seeing ourselves properly, and by loving people as God loves them!
what a wonderfully-written article, kristen! I’m so proud to know that you know God’s view on true beauty in each person–godly character. it’s so sad that our world bombards us so heavily that we so get caught up in our insecurity and envy about our body image that we totally miss out on numerous opportunities to love the people around us.
i wholeheartedly agree kristen!
Wanted to give several link resources to see more statistics on young girl’s struggle with the world’s perception of beauty and self-esteem. Also a link to the “onslaught” video referenced in the above comments.
Article about Children’s Exposure to the Worldly view of Beauty at Early Age”
- Average women averages spending $449,127 in beauty products over their lifetime.
A Beautiful Song by Jonny Diaz about how what makes a girl beautiful is what is inside, the identity of being God’s child
- Wonderful Song
A young girl’s self esteem issues – Statistics
- Lot of Interesting Statistics
Dove’s Onslaught Video
Hope these are helpful.
Great post Kristen! Young girls (and boys) need to be taught this truth so they can respond properly to the lies that the world feeds them at a wrong age. God’s heart must really hurt for those who never get to hear the truth
Wow… Amen! Thanks for this post, Kristen.
It is heartbreaking…and I’m so proud of our youth for taking a stand against these lies of the world, to show others the heart of a loving God that looks at the inside…
Dear Daughter,
Your first post is pretty good!
Now, I know everyone is thinking, “Pastor Jonathan’s just saying that because she’s his daughter!” But that’s precisely the point of your post — that God values each person because we are His precious sons and daughters!
Keep on writing, and more importantly, keep on growing as God’s precious daughter!
Dear my Grand-Daughter,Kristen
Your post came out of your good heart which impact in my heart.
That is not only for the youth but also for the old aged person.
I knew that long times ago but sometimes
I have been failed to view the person which God make of His own image.
Thank you for your post, I will remember and try and apply every occasion.
GO Kristen unni!! thx so much for this post i found it really encouraging to not let appearances b the first thing i judge in a person, especially in light of the message a couple weeks ago. thx so much and keep writing
that’s an awesome post kristen! veeery well said!!!! it makes me really think about how i shouldn’t judge the people around based solely on their looks.
Thanks for this post Kristen!!! It’s a good reminder that we as Christians can really take a stand against the lies that media bombards us with by valuing ourselves and others as precious daughters and sons of God rather than just our appearance!
Dude THats really awsome post.kk Seriously, its not only the girls who are goin through those insecurities about their appearances. A LOT OF GUYS are feeling the same way~!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE christians should not fall into those kinds of lies that the media tells us!
This article has alot of truth in it. Wow I thought this was from a magazine. I totally did not expect this from one of our very youth!!!!
thanks for this article
(btw someone should write an article about metromale-ness referring back to joshwangs comment):)
that is awesome kristen unni! ditto to anna and thanks so much! it really helps me realize that we shouldnt judge by someone’s outward appearance, which is something people resort to so easily. THANKS!
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0002180.cfm
here’s another really good article on Boundless about the same topic.
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