Vanity and Pride

$45

That’s the price tag for a bracelet that was advertised on a morning television show this week. It was part of a “beach fashion” segment for women who want to look their best as they enjoy the sun and surf this summer. There were lots of other products displayed and I calculated that a woman could easily spend over $300 to “look good at the beach”.

I always forget that summer television drives me crazy! I shouldn’t watch. But when it is part of the morning “news” I get sucker punched every time. I was walking through the room with a load of laundry and my first thought was “Are women really so gullible?” Then I gave the host my opinion, “$45 for something to wear on my arm to the beach?” I try not to talk to the television, especially when Gary is home, but honestly...

There were many times as a child when I hated being a girl. I viewed women as such vain, senseless creatures- always trying to be pretty and sweet and make everyone happy. Men just did what they wanted, when they wanted to. Men had power and used their brains. They created things and made the rules. My views have changed over the years, but there are still times when I find myself shaking my head in disbelief over the extreme lengths women will go to for the sake of appearance. Of course these days, when even men color their hair and wear makeup and get Botox injections, I have to shake my head much more often! (Ironically in the animal kingdom it is most often the male that is brightly colored and adorned and struts his stuff to attract the female.)

Beauty, and the pursuit of it, is such a complicated concept for me. On the one hand I understand that appearance is important. I know that women have been trying to alter their appearance, mostly in order to attract men, since time began. People make a lot of decisions about us based on how we look. Clothing often conveys social or financial status.  But on the other hand, I don’t understand how people can spend so much time and effort and money on their appearance while neglecting their minds.

I don’t have any personal aversion to women who wear makeup or jewelry or pretty clothes. But I won’t spend much time with them if that is their only focus. Balance is vital in life. Show me your good looks, but prove to me that you also have a brain and know how to use it. Prove to me that you have values and priorities and that they make sense.

As I get older I comprehend more than ever the significance of maintaining and enriching my mind. I spend far more time thinking and reading and remembering things than I do primping. My body is failing me at an alarming rate and I now realize that I treasure each and every day that I can get around and do what I want to do. I don’t really care that much about how I look doing it! And even if I end up in a wheelchair, as my grandmother did, I will be thankful if I still have my mind. No one wants to end up as a “pretty package” wondering around without any knowledge.

The media, in every form, appeals to our vanity and pride, but it is our mind that gets us through life. It is our wisdom that determines our path.

 

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

 

Comments

[Megan]

Don't be smart, be pretty! Uh.