When I first signed up to speak on image for my Women Believers in Business Networking Group (some 11 months ago!); I thought “Easy peasy… I’m a beauty consultant, so this is going to be cake”. Now, here I am and I realized that this topic is a lot more complex and heavy than I originally thought. Maybe the reason for that is because I didn’t want this to be some fluff piece. Some “I’m a beauty consultant so I know what’s what and you need to buy skincare and makeup from me so you know what’s up too and look good doing it” type thing. When I sat down to do this, I felt really burdened to speak on things that are more than skin deep. Kind of a weird thing to be burdened about for a speaking engagement for a networking group, but here I am. So I prayed about it and then I went to Ann Voskamp’s blog and read through it and I got some good quotes and inspiration from her. I LOVE her writing, by the way!!
Anyways, being women and especially being women in business, we hear a lot of “Image is everything” and “You are your brand, so you need to look the part” and “You only get one chance to make a good first impression” and so on. Now that may be true, but how do we, as women, drown out the loudness of the world and listen to the only voice that matters? The voice of the One who gave up glory for us? The One who redeemed us? The One who truly knows us, and loves us anyways? I think this word from 1 Peter 3:3-4 says it all “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” On the surface or in the business world, this word may seem to be outdated or irrelevant, but if we look beyond the surface, I don’t think that it is. Now before you think that I’m suggesting going out in public without showering and in our pjs, I’m not. I do believe that it’s important to look the part of a business woman. Dressing professionally, wearing flattering makeup and fixing our hair, shows that we value ourselves and others. How others? How we dress and carry ourselves sends a message to the world. That message can be, I am a professional woman or it can be I just woke up and dragged myself here, so don’t mess with me. Now, I know that those are not the only choices. There is more that goes into all that, but I’m speaking in general, not specific terms. I also know that when you meet someone (especially in a professional setting) they’re not going to close their eyes, and want to get to know your soul. That’ll be a bit weird and maybe creepy…. but what they are going to notice is the way you act, the way you carry yourself and the way you are. After all, you are your brand. No pressure, right?!
I think that the key word of these verses is MERELY. So basically, don’t be only concerned with your appearance and not your personality. Image is more than how we look. It’s the whole person. That’s why I love the Proverbs 31 woman. {Read Prov 31:10-31}. When the author of Proverbs 31 (King Lemuel) (allegedly King Solomon) wrote this, he didn’t just focus on her outward appearance. He also commented on her character, business savvy, awesome mom and wife skills, etc… She’s intimidating when I try to measure up to her, but I don’t think that was ever the intent of this proverb. It’s not a measuring stick to show us how much we’re failing, it’s a guide to see how much we’ve done and how much more we can do when God is our strength!! How awesome is that? We KNOW, as women, that we can’t do it all. Maybe we’ve tried and failed, or maybe we didn’t even try because we felt like we are so far behind, but the truth is that we CAN do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength. As Ann says in one of her blog posts “Women are hungry.We are hungry for authenticity and simplicity and vulnerability. We are hungry for assessibility and connectivity and humility. We are hungry for integrity and and we are hungry for gritty change.We are missing Jesus. The Jesus that gets dirt under your fingernails, the Jesus that gets you on your knees and into the hurt of this world, the Jesus that turns everything on its head because He’s only interested in hearts. The Jesus that loves the underdog and the outcast and the overlooked. That Jesus”. WOW, right? That Jesus. The Jesus that can turn our “not enough” into “more than enough”. That Jesus that can take our worries and stress and need for comparison and give us HIS peace. A peace that truly surpasses our understanding. A peace so deep and so wide that it doesn’t make sense, but that’s His peace. That’s OUR Jesus and we, EACH and everyone of us, is made in HIS image. You and I sitting here are made in God’s image. That alone is worth more than fancy clothes, fine jewelry and pretty hair. Ann said: “There’s a world that wants to force women into smothering plastic molds and whisper that she wants to be a shape and not free. There’s a relentless refrain that wants to cage women into polished skin, into glossy boxes, into cheap ornaments and tell her that she really wants this, they know she really wants this. There’s this beat that beats up women” but when we look to God, He tell us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We were created. He MADE us. We weren’t mass produced. We weren’t made out of a mold with 100 look a-likes. We are unique. We are created in His image. Each one of us different, each one special, each one the daughter of the Most High God. Dearly loved and uniquely created in the image of God for a purpose and for good works. So let’s not let our appearance be merely outwardly, but let’s live fully in the image of the One who created us and loves us and called us His own.
UnrealisticExpectationsBlog 
You are so right! So many women, and even men are too focused on their outward appearance that they forget to match the outside with the inside…There are some beautiful ugly people out there…Eventually that catches up to them and their physical beauty starts to look ugly. There are also some people who aren’t as good looking, but they will start to look beautiful because of their heart and attitude. You my sister are beautiful inside and out. Love you!
You are much too kind! Thanks for the encouragement. Love you Gab!!
Love you more! 😉
Great post and, oh, so true! Inner work is so important, and knowing our identity in Christ gives us true beauty from the inside, out! I love fashion, makeup, image talk, etc. etc (as you well know) but it means nothing if we’re not connecting with God, drawing on His Presence, listening to His voice and taking time to be in relationship with Him. The world would have us so obsessed with busyness and outward appearance that we’d neglect our inner selves–I know I have to work at it to make sure to strike that balance! Thanks for a beautiful post!
You are so right! Thanks for your sweet words Tab!