Identity Theft

I was putting on some makeup the other day and I had a startling thought. As I swiped my eyelashes with a black brush and beefed up my brows with a pencil, it occurred to me that if women ever REALLY believed they were beautiful, there would be no demand for makeup.  If we all put down our lipstick and  foundation for an entire year, the cosmetic industry would grind to a screeching halt. 53 billion dollars in revenue would go somewhere else in the American economy, and 52,500 people would be unemployed. That doesn't even count the surgical side of things. Can you imagine it? This need we think we have for makeup is just a symptom of a deeper problem. What would happen if we all chose to just be who were are - physically and otherwise - and dared to let everyone else see us?

The more I get to know women, the more I see that we all hide ourselves. The booming success of the cosmetic industry is visible proof of that fact.  Each of us has a story of how we came to be so hidden. I grew up in a world where men and boys looked down on women and girls and told them every chance they got about why and how we were inferior. I learned to be a tomboy for what precious little acceptance it got me. Who I really was seemed irrelevant then, and I spent decades attempting to be someone else. It's only now, as I quickly approach forty, that I am beginning to discover who God really created me to be. Imagine my surprise when He began to show me that I am a woman, through and through. I grieve over the fact that I never had a twirly dress or learned to dance. I refuse to touch the worms I dug for and played with as a child, and I believe that taking out the trash is for men. I love deeply. I like quiet. I am, indeed, a people person and not a shy little mouse. All shocking discoveries.

Maybe the deeper problem isn't just that we're hiding from everyone else....maybe the REAL problem is that we're hiding from ourselves. Maybe our true identities have been stolen. After all, we do know that  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy". (John 10:10) Jesus Himself taught us that. So often, if the the enemy can get us to believe a lie (just like Eve did), we take it as Gospel truth and set out to destroy ourselves, doing all his dirty work for him.

So what lie have you believed about yourself all these years? Do you believe that if anyone saw the real you, they would no longer desire you? Guess what? God has not only seen the real you, He created you with His very hands. There is only One who knows everything about you, and He is the only One who will never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:8) He sent His only beloved Son to die in your place, that you would have a way back to Him after you wandered away. (John 3:16) What amazing love!! Do you really think HE cares if your eyebrows are a little thin or your lips aren't as pink as they once were?

It might seem silly or scary, but I dare you to try it anyway. Take off your makeup today. Let all the lies of the enemy go down the drain with it. Believe God's heart instead. You are His precious treasure.  "How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!" (Song of Solomon 1:15)

Father, thank You that Your desire for me never changes, even when I fall short of your glory. Thank You that who I am depends only on You, and You will never fail. Help me to see myself as You see me. Help me to truly know how very beautiful I am, even - and especially - without a drop of makeup on my face.