Breaking Free

The following is a summary of Julie Smith Lowe’s session, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Body Image and Addiction to Appearance.” Julie is a counselor and instructor at CCEF. She has extensive experience working with individuals, families and children and is trained as a Christian conciliator. She teaches regularly on the issues surrounding body image.

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Body Image. This is an issue that plagues women across the globe, especially those in western culture. Wives of pornography addicts often struggle disproportionately with this issue. Body image problems may cause numerous disorders including: depression, eating disorders, self-mutilation, obsessive exercise, anxiety, and isolation.

This was one video Julie showed at her workshop called “Dove Evolution.” It highlights so plainly how many people have bought into the lie of mass marketing when it comes to true beauty.

Our culture promotes a standard of beauty that is not only unrealistic, but it is potentially harmful. It is a standard that, as is vividly seen in pornography, dehumanizing and can justify violence. This is because a person becomes simply an object of pleasure rather than people being a means to having a mutually satisfying relationship. Our focus on beauty causes a preoccupation with self and a felt need for perfection. Self-promotion is not the answer happiness and contentment.

What is the answer?

Should we even care about what we look like? Often times Christians stand on one of two extremes. The stoic would purport that beauty is evil and anything that draws attention to ourselves should be avoided. On the other hand, there can be unexamined acceptance. This leads to embracing cultural ideals and measuring worth by superficial qualities. Both of these views are harmful and incorrect.

The correct view of beauty acknowledges that creation is a reflection of God’s glory and beauty. Beauty in its proper place always points to God and his sovereignty and goodness.

We must remember that we reflect the thing we wish to bear image to, and we image what we worship. Do we worship the world’s view of beauty? Success? Athleticisim? Non-Conformity? Or are we image bearers of the King?

If we desire to be image bearers of the King, we must understand what God’s standard is. We see His standard in the person of Jesus Christ.

For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:2-3)

He models the image that we are to bear. Jesus became like us, but was not defined us. He refused the labels that we gave him. And he alone established a model perfect image to aspire to.

Our goal should not be to attempt to draw people to ourselves, but it should be to allow Christ to call people to Himself through me. Expression of beauty is not bad, but the goal of self-expression should be to mirror Christ. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Do not let your adorning be external – braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

“For a few minutes we have had the illusion of belonging to the world. Now we wake to find that it is no such thing. We have been mere spectators. Beauty has smiled, but not to see us.” (C.S. Lewis)