I'm Handsome. Pay me!

In one of his early books Dr. James Dobson wrote about an unfortunate, unplanned experiment in social response. His daughter, an exceptionally cute little girl, had a bad fall. The injuries left her with a grotesque looking mouth and nose--thankfully temporary. Instantly, the Dobsons had abundant illustrations of the beauty premium. Danae was the same child on the inside, but her appearance caused her to be treated radically differently than she had been just a few days before--sometimes by the very same people.

The Old-Testament King, Saul, was the recipient of this unearned and undeserved bonus. Samuel observes, "there was not a more handsome person . . . among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people." (1 Samuel 10:23) Unfortunately, he was a male version of this tragic Proverb, "As a ring of gold in a swine's snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion." (Proverbs 11:22) Today we might refer to such a person as an "empty suit."

The problem is the empty suit often gets gold ring. A recent Newsweek article indicates that being good looking is worth a quarter of a million over a lifetime. Hiring managers, when asked about female applicants, admitted that physical attractiveness has more impact than educational accomplishments.

It is another version of our tendency to externalism (see yesterday's STTA). Those of us who claim to walk with and serve the God "who looks on the heart," must resist this syndrome. A pleasant looking exterior is a gift from God. Like all God's gifts, good looks ought to be appreciated. But we must resist our culture's unfortunate tendency to focus on the outside to the exclusion of the consideration of deeper, more important virtues."

Beauty is vain, but a woman [or a man] who fears the Lord, she [he] shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:30) That's how God sees it.

It's STTA.

(As usual, Al Mohler has some thoughts worth reading on this matter,http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/07/22/the-snare-of-beauty-flashpoints-of-our-obsession-with-attractiveness/)

Shallow:

A number of the recurring issues in the church have to with a failure to distinguish the inside from the outside. I used to think that the seemingly endless arguments and posturing about music and standards and translations of the Bible, etc. would finally just die off. I take no joy in saying that my expectation was based on a failure to adequately reckon on the tendency of we humans to get it wrong. Given the choice most people will choose the surface and shallow over the real any day.

We just looked at the first part of Mark 7 this past Sunday. The religious leaders of Jesus day thought that the secret to being right with God and having the fullness of blessing that He desires to give us is to focus on a maddening tangle of external dos and don'ts. Jesus pointed to the heart.

I see the tendency in my day all over the place. There are important discussions to be had about songs, how we dress, and the accuracy of translations of God's word. Unfortunately those discussions usually go undiscussed. The conversation pretty well stops at the surface. Often, in the final analysis it comes down to what I like and what I'm used to. But I see the tendency in other ways as well. For some it is smells, as in incense, bells and chants, and stained glass and spires. Whether there is substance, or what the substance is, is seldom considered. Rather folk seek the holy-awe, with the same thoughtless intensity that others seek the holy-buzz through their frenetic activity.

Those who worship the Lord must worship in "spirit and truth." We are to love Him with "all our heart, soul and mind."

That which is only on the surface won't do.

It's STTA.