We live in a world today that places so much attention on outward beauty and appearance and so little attention on inward strength, character, and godliness. Most everybody wants to be accepted and few will stand alone for what is right. The world’s influences bombard young women and give them a false description of beauty making them feel like to be worth anything, they have to be “pretty” enough, thin enough, or a certain personality. And the lives of the ones that believe it often become so shallow – focused on temporal things – that in hard times, they crumble apart because they don’t have anything deep. Of course, their are many more things that make life beautiful but these three, but here are some qualities that we should desire to be characterized by. They make life joyful to live – sweet instead of bitter tasting in good times and hard times. They are the opposites of what is sometimes considered “popular” to be. They are fruit that lasts. I want to be surrendered to the Lord so that the Holy Spirit can keep bearing these fruits in my life.
Humility.
Humility is recognizing when we’re wrong and admitting it, even when it hurts. It’s recognizing that God is responsible for the blessings in our lives and so many other people have helped us to become what we are. It’s serving behind the scenes without acknowlegement because we are serving Jesus and working for a greater purpose than ourselves. It goes straight against our old sinful nature and it hurts sometimes, but it makes our lives truly beautiful and a joy to be around!
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:4
Love.
God is love. What Jesus did on the cross is a perfect example of love. Love is so much more than a warm, fuzzy, emotional feeling. In fact, it sometimes doesn’t even have a feeling – it’s an act of our will in obedience to Jesus. It’s not just a response to someone that loves us – even lost people do that – it’s saying, “Lord I don’t know how to love him/her but I know that you have called me to do just that and I trust you to love them through me. I know that I cannot do it, but I will choose to let you love them through me.
C. S. Lewis once said, “Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
Gratefulness.
A grateful heart is always a blessing! We can have a grateful, worshipful heart attitude all the time even if we are not saying anything out loud. But gratefulness definitely does have a place in our speech as well. Just like the song Count Your Blessings, when we take the time to give thanks to God for specific blessings in our lives, it helps us to remember how much he has done for us. And don’t take others for granted either. Let your family know how much they mean to you. A grateful, content heart, rejoicing in the Lord, is truly beautiful!
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18