Nothing is innately wrong with lipstick and shoes, for example, but we can’t take them with us when our bodies return to dust. They’re “treasures,” in a sense, that will perish when we do (Gen. 3:19; Matt. 6:19–21). The same goes for money and possessions and all our earthly accomplishments.

“The first comment we make to other women is usually about their looks.”

I hadn’t noticed that, but my friend was right. Most of the time when I encounter another woman in church, our greetings involve some kind of compliment about the other’s appearance. There’s nothing wrong with affirming someone’s lipstick color or shoe choice. But I do wonder what this says about what we value most.

As these comments have been directed toward my young daughter, I’ve grown more concerned. People mean well, and beauty matters in our Christian worldview—but not in the way our culture says it does. I worry she can’t yet tell the difference.

Little girls who are innocently told “You’ve got that outfit going on!” learn early that appearance is king. Beauty does matter—but not in the way social media and this internet age suggest. Instead, we need a biblical theology of beauty to rule our hearts and homes.

Humans are embodied souls for whom beauty matters, beauty fades, and beauty deepens. Jesus, the incarnate Son, embodies this reality and offers the church hope and help as we raise our daughters in the faith.

Beauty Matters

Beauty matters because beautiful things ultimately flow from God’s creative hand. He’s the origin of everything good, true, and lovely (Rom. 11:36), the supreme manifestation of beauty. “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary” (Ps. 96:6). God’s perfect holiness makes him altogether glorious, and he shares this glory with his creation (Ps. 8:3–5; Isa. 6:3). Every sunrise proclaims his beauty (Ps. 19:1–2), and every newborn baby declares his praise (Matt. 21:16).

Christians aren’t gnostics who disparage the body, however fallen we may be. We neither shame the body nor worship it. Our bodies are dignified gifts from God and temples of his Spirit. From the dust of the ground, God made a “very good” Adam in his image (Gen. 1:27, 31). An embodied existence is what we were made for—everlasting beauty in God’s beautiful presence. We won’t know its fullness until Jesus returns and grants us resurrection bodies (1 Cor. 15:42–49), but we know a degree of its worth here and now (13:11–12).

Our girls need to know that beauty matters because God is beautiful, and he creates beautiful things. Jesus’s willingness to take on flesh testifies to this reality. Our bodies have inherent dignity and worth because we belong to God. Rather than shaming our kids for their curiosities about the human body (“We’re not going to ask about that!”), we celebrate beauty in light of our Creator. 

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