The Ragamuffin

"A woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worthy or enough. She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that he finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in him, she is enough."

-Stasi Eldredge 

As a woman, particularly a Christian woman, how often do you find yourself harboring a sinking feeling of inadequacy? If your answer is anywhere near about once every five minutes, you're far from alone. We have been born into a culture that has told us we are not thin enough, smart enough, pretty enough, sexy enough or funny enough to be deemed worthy of respect or love. Advertisements bombard us with the concept that we need their product in order to look and feel better, convincing us that the illusion of becoming the "perfect woman" is not only attainable, but purchasable. This leaves us normal women feeling completely sucked dry as we constantly try to keep up with the implausible stereotype of a woman who has worth to the world.

What if I told you that even if you did finally attain the standard of beauty and worth that the world asks for, you wouldn't be happy? That even if you began to feel esteemed by your peers for your incredibly small waistline or your multiple degrees or your hefty checking account balance, you would, in anywhere from 50-85 years from now, die and none of it would matter? 

The qualities that the world esteems in a woman today are directly opposed to what God deems to be beautiful and estimable in his daughters. Where the world is calling you to be self-sufficient and fiercely independent, God delights in a woman who submits to his will and depends on him at every moment (Psalm 37:3-7). While magazines praise women who devote themselves to hours spent at the gym or salon, working on their appearances, God sees true beauty in a woman who is devoted to studying his word and who spends her time cultivating a gentle spirit who loves the Lord (Proverbs 31:30, 1 Peter 3:3-4). Media displays women who control and degrade men, using them for selfish desires and sexual pleasure in the context of dating, then degrading them as useless sloths in the context of marriage. God sees insurmountable worth in a woman who submits to her husband in purity and regards him with respect and honor (Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:2). 

The standard which culture today has deemed admirable for a woman is not only unattainable, but is a stereotype that has absolutely zero value in the sight of God. It is when we spend the most time toiling over our worldly appearances and accomplishments that we feel the least beautiful and accomplished. Isn't that ironic? Our loving Father sees our hearts as having been made beautiful by the cleansing blood of Jesus. He sees us as wholly worthy of love because of the reconciliation that came through his Son. We no longer need to strive to attain worth when infinite value has already been given to us freely! We now find our security, beauty, value, and sufficiency in God and God alone. We are free to enjoy expressing ourselves through our fashion choices without depending on our styles to mold our identities. We are free to exercise and take care of our bodies not to become more desirable, but to take care of the body that God has entrusted us. We can lovingly submit firstly to God and secondarily to our husbands, knowing that we don't increase in value when we increase in control.

You, daughter of God, are worthy. You are absolutely valuable. You are infinitely beautiful.

You do not have to be the "perfect woman", because Jesus already lived the perfect life for you. May I urge you to live in light of the freedom he has given us? Resist the urge to conform to the patterns of this world. Your value was attributed to you the moment that Jesus died in order to make you his child. That's where your ultimate sense of worth comes from. Praise God! How incredibly freeing is that truth?!