EYE OF THE BEHOLDERI've been addicted lately to plastic surgery shows. You know which ones I mean--Dr 90210 and Plastic Surgery: Before and After. I'm not sure why other than maybe it's interesting to see just what miracles modern medicine can perform. LOL
It's a little addicting too. Once you change one thing about yourself, it's tempting to just keep going. I could totally see me going in and getting rid of the wattles that are starting to show up on my old neck. Or fixing the nose I've always hated. Hey, how about a little lipo? See what I mean. And it's much easier to lipo off twenty pounds than to give up my chocolate. Don't mess with my DeBrand truffles!
I used to think plastic surgery was just for losers who couldn't deal with who God made them to be. But I've thought about it a lot recently and where is the line between those people and those of us who use Arbonne or whatever other kind of face cream we want? We're all seeking to look better. Though I personally couldn't see spending that much money on my appearance, everyone has to make their own decision.
But you know, our culture is just obsessed with beauty. How did it come to this? How did we gradually come to accept Hollywood's opinion so completely? When I was growing up, I thought my Grandma was beautiful. Now you could have used her as a bowling ball (she was about as round as she was tal) but I loved her so much I didn't notice. Her soul was beautiful and it shone through to the outside. And my mother and my Aunt Edith were totally beautiful and I wanted to look just like them. They're still beautiful.
But it's a reminder that the most beautiful people I know aren't Hollywood material. Truly beautiful people have an beauty that shines through no matter what they look like inside. If we'd all work on that aspect of beauty, the world would be a better place. But again, that's a lot harder than going under a surgeon's knife. We might actually have to let God CHANGE something. Gasp! We might actually have to hold our tongue instead of letting the snarkiness out. We might have to show love when we want to knock a person's head off his shoulders and kick it around a while.
So I've decided I'm going to quit watching those shows and focus on real beauty. But I'm not giving up by Arbonne while I work on it.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Delicious
15 Comments:
My mother always said, "Beauty is only skin deep...but ugliness is to the bone!" She also said, "Beauty is as beauty does." In other words, it's what's inside of us and how we act that's important.
Anne Ortlund in her book, Beautiful for Thee, said when she studied the ideal woman in Proverbs 31, she found that twenty-two verses dealt with this woman’s kindness, godliness, hard work, and loving relationships, yet only one verse out of these twenty-two described how the ideal woman looked: “She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple” (Proverbs 31:22).
Anne Ortlund goes on to say that she made a pact with the Lord to devote only 1/22 of her time to outward beauty since this was the ratio in Proverbs 31.
Pretty interesting, huh?
Thanks for a great post, Colleen!
It's interesting how our culture values the exact opposite of what God tells us is important in a woman. Physical beauty, youth, and and the attitude of a "witch" are admired and replace the true values of an inward beauty, the honor that should come with age, and a gentle and quiet spirit. God has challenged me more times than I can count to keep my focus on what is true and not to worry about the width of my hips in comparison to Lindsay Lohan's. The true challenge is to allow God to change my heart and mind over time, which is another stark contrast to the work a doctor could do on my body in the course of a few hours!
I look at the whole cosmetic surgery thing as just a further extension of makeup...but more costly and slightly more permanent. I think a tummy tuck or minor adjustment for health reasons or even for looks is fine, but extremes can be taken with both (ie Tammy Fay Baker - applied makeup with a trowl or Pam Anderson - more plastic than Toys R Us). What's sad is I've seen pictures of Pam Anderson when she was in her early twenties before the lip injections, eye job and the rest. She was really quite atractive and natural looking. To misquote Kristy "Ugly is as ugly does." And guys are doing it too...just look at Kenny Rogers or Burt Reynolds...aliens!
I might be biased, though...my wife is beautiful outside and inside.
You guys, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new look of the blog. Fantastic!!
Ok - this is sort of rude sounding, but I've ALWAYS wondered if you have plastic surgery, do you melt if you get close to fire? What IS "plastic" surgery? Everything I've ever seen has been just cutting and pasting, no plastic involved.
Curiously yours,
Jaime
When I look at the images of the 'chocolate fight' it almost looks like your hands are on a ouija board...trying to contact the spirts of eaten chocolates perhaps?
You all have some great perspectives on the subject.
Anoymous, I'm shocked! You know what a Ouija Board LOOKS like? LOL Unfortunately, so do I. It was all the rage when I was a teenager. But in this case, we were actually each tugging on the box. LOL
Hey Jaime, I've wondered the same thing. Especially about the fake breasts. LOL
Not that I'm an expert, but the plastic used in plastic surgery isn't realy plastic. It's often Silicone or saline (saline is used in implants in case of rupture)...though I really do think Pam Anderson is made of plastic. The big thing for men now is cheek and chin implants. Solid Silicone is used for that proceedure. But oddly (or thankfully) the biggest growing trend in cosmetic surgery is (drum roll Denise) TATTOO REMOVAL among women 30-40 years old.
btw...I know the whole melting thing was a joke. LOL. I find the whole cosmetic surgery thing to be rather fascinating and did a lot of research on it...there's actually a lady who has had her face reconstructed to look like a cat.
Okay, Allen, what is wrong with you that you are researching plastic surgery? LOL
My best friend is a Christian guy, but sometimes his thinking and opinions make me want to bash him upside the head. For instance: there's a girl at our church that is one of the sweetest girls I've ever met. She dresses nicely but she doesn't have a very attractive face or hair. However, I find her to be one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen just because her heart shines through and to me, changes her appearance. He says he doesn't find her attractive at all.
*huff* Men.
Actually, Colleen, for my series, I was reserching cloning, stem cell research, human/mechanic hybrid science AND cosmetic surgery. Yeah...that's a fun time. :)
hold on a sec Kayla...men? We aren't all like that.
I think plastic surgery is fine if it's needed to fix an injury or is reconstructive. When it's done out of vanity or to make you feel better about a break up or whatever, it becomes a problem.
For example, it drives me nuts when people decide to have gastric bypass surgery and then have to have full body lifts to remove the extra skin. Many times, the patient has gastric surgery because he/she didn't have the determination to lose the weight slowly and naturally. (I do realize sometimes the surgery is a last resort, life-or-death decision.) If they had done that, they wouldn't need the full body lift.
Biggest pet "plastic surgery" peeve: Porcelain veneers. They looks worse than false teeth!
I'm with you, Colleen. If that's what a woman wants to do, I say go for it. But me? Shiver. I don't like needles, let alone scalpels.
Post a Comment
<< Home