Looks Are Not Everything But Noticeably Important 

1 Samuel 9:2 (NIV) – Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.

How important are our physical looks in our spiritual growth? Should we attend to the spiritual and ignore our physical appearance? Sometimes when possessed by religious zeal, extremism causes us to relegate what God didn’t relegate.

The fact that God created us with a physical appearance means it’s important. God wouldn’t create something that has no purpose and He isn’t interested in. From that standpoint physical appearance is important and should be groomed to achieve the complete purposes of God.

Another reason is that , the Bible in many different places explains the physical appearance of the Bible characters. The Bible is a highly summarized book. The information in the Bible is very little compared to what was left out. The Holy Spirit selected this little information in order to introduce us to the will of God. Yet in this limited presentation, the concept of physical appearance does feature in a way that we can’t and shouldn’t ignore!

1 Samuel 9:2 (NIV) – Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.

We are introduced to Saul the first king of Israel. The introduction includes his physical appearance. Handsome young man. Compared to others, he was really handsome. He was also tall. The Holy Spirit wanted us to know this hundreds of years later. God selected a young, tall and handsome man to be a king. Depending on how you groom your looks, would God consider you?

Genesis 12:11 (NIV) – As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.

Genesis 12:14 (NIV) – When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.

Abraham’s wife was very beautiful. Wife to the father of faith was very beautiful. The father of faith chose an outstanding beauty as his wife. A man or woman of faith cannot ignore the physical appearance. It’s not everything but it’s part of the consideration.

Even the Egyptians acknowledged that Sara was very beautiful. This beauty was not the subjective opinion of a husband who has no option but to praise his wife. This beauty was acknowledged by independent observers wherever Abraham went. In every objective sense, Sarai was beautiful!

Would Abraham’s taste shortlist you to his potential wife? How do you groom what God has given you? How do you take care of and present the physical features God has given you!

Genesis 24:16 (NIV) – The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

Rebekah who became Isaac’s wife was very beautiful, the Bible records. She was a virgin and a very beautiful woman. Many beautiful people find it difficult to be virgins because the beauty multiplies temptations. Rebekah had no record of sleeping around, yet very beautiful.

Rebekah was very beautiful but also hardworking. She fetched water for so many camels of a stranger. She wasn’t a beauty who did nothing but watch movies and stay on social media. She was beautiful and hardworking! These characteristics made Eleazar choose her for Isaac. Would Eleazar pick you today using the same characteristics as standard?

Genesis 29:17 (NIV) – Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful.

Rachel had a lovely figure and was very beautiful. Leah is said to have had weak eyes. Leah is not said to have been beautiful. Therefore the biblical mention of beauty is not flirtatious. It’s not about calling everyone beautiful. It’s about acknowledging who is beautiful and who is not. Rachel was very beautiful with a figure no one would forget. Why does the Holy Spirit allow such information in the Holy Bible? It’s because physical appearance is important even if it’s not everything!

Leah is said to have had weak eyes. This means she had challenges in her physical appearance and particularly compared to Rachel. The challenges Leah had did not disadvantage her from getting married and having children. God in His own ways ensured Leah got married first and had children. Rachel was beautiful, got married later and challenges getting children. This is all evidence that physical appearance is not everything in life, and lack of it is not necessarily a sentence to a bad life. However, as much as possible we should strive to have good physical appearance because the Bible keeps emphasizing it! Do not neglect your physical appearance!

Genesis 39:6-7 (NIV) – 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

Joseph is a great Bible character. A man who was faithful to God under extreme circumstances of family betrayal. He was sold to slavery. Even in the hopelessness of slavery he remained faithful. His slave master known as Potiphar loved him and totally trusted him.

It was enough for the Bible to tell us about the faithfulness of Joseph and his resilience. That is enough to inspire faith of many generations who read his story. But the Holy Spirit wants us to know that Joseph was also well built, meaning muscular, and handsome.

Joseph was faithful to God. Joseph was hardworking. Joseph was loved and trusted by his boss. Joseph kept a positive outlook in life even while being a slave. That same Joseph was muscular. That same Joseph was handsome. The physical appearance may not be everything, but it’s recorded so that we do not neglect our physical appearance!

1 Samuel 16:12 (NIV) – So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

David may not have outrightly looked like a king compared to his brother Eliab. David was forgotten by his family when the agenda was to look for a king within the family. David may not have looked royal but the Bible tells us that he was looking healthy, glowing in health.

It’s important to look healthy. Some practices can make one look unhealthy. Extreme physical exercises can make one look unhealthy. Excessive eating can make one look unhealthy. Extreme rejection of components of diet can cause one to look unhealthy. David was glowing in health, he looked healthy. Be concerned if your health practices make you look unhealthy. Looking healthy is God’s will for us. Do you look healthy?

Daniel 1:12-16 (NIV) – 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

The main issue in the school at Babylon was to look healthy. Your physical appearance matters. God helped Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego to look healthy. Looking healthy came from diet and God’s action in their lives. If you don’t look healthy, you have a problem with your diet and God. David was glowing in health. The four Hebrew boys in Babylon were glowing in health. Are you glowing in health?

1 Samuel 16:12 (NIV) – So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

David had a fine appearance and handsome features. He wasn’t very handsome but he had handsome features. He had a fine appearance. He looked good. His physical appearance was satisfactory. The Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of the Bible wanted us to know that physical appearance cannot be ignored. It may not be everything but it matters.

2 Samuel 14:25 (NIV) – In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him.

Absalom was the son of David. He turned out to be a bad boy. He rebelled against the father. He wanted to topple the father from power. He was rebellious. He was killed at war while fighting his father. Yet the Bible wants us to know that he stunningly handsome!

The story of Absalom would still make sense and deliver powerful lessons without the mention of his physical appearance. Why did the Holy Spirit allow these details on physical appearance to be added? The looks are important but not everything. A good looking man became rebellious and died in rebellion. We should be good looking but also have good character. Good looks without character is tragic.

Absalom was handsome from the top of his head to the sole of his feet. There was no blemish. No defect. His physical features were perfectly attractive. He was praised all over Israel by everyone for his good looks. It was unanimous that Absalom was handsome. If only he had good character. To look good and have bad character is to lead a disastrous life.

Esther 2:7 (NIV) – Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

Esther 2:15 (NIV) – When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail ) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.

Esther was very beautiful. She had a lovely figure. Yet she avoided excess make up that other competitors used. She only used the basic make up that Hegai provided. Basic make up and grooming stuff is good. We shouldn’t abandon everything that makes us look good. Some oils and perfumes and designs greatly improve our physical features. Esther improved her physical appearance. However, she was not as extreme as compared to others.

Esther was beautiful and everyone agreed about it. Esther won the contest because the king got attracted to her. We must strive to look good. We must strive to avoid excess but still use what makes us look great.

God gave us nails that grow, we don’t remain natural by abandoning the nails to become too long, instead we trim our nails. Our hair also grows and we shave, trim, design, etc. Samson wasn’t supposed to shave, but he organized his hair into seven locks (Judges 16:13). Our hair should be shaved or organized. The end product is to look good!

What is true about our nails and hair, is true about other physical appearance. Our face needs some work in order to look good. Our legs and even general body tone. Do what must be done to look and smell attractive. Esther who was naturally beautiful, accepted minimal make up.

Isaiah 53:2 (NIV) – He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Isaiah gives a prophecy about Jesus. Isaiah tells us Jesus wasn’t very attractive physically. There was nothing in his physical appearance that would attract us to Him. Why? Jesus came to save everyone. He came at the lowest point so us to embrace everyone. He was born under the lowest circumstances. He looked the least attractive. This made Him the Saviour of everyone in the various extremes of life and in between.

John 19:23-24 (NIV) – 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.

While Jesus may not have been outstanding in His looks, His clothes were very good. At His death, soldiers struggled to decide who takes the clothes. His clothes were good and valuable. We may not be able to do much with our physical appearance, but we can do something about our clothing. Strive to improve your physical appearance by wearing good clothes.

Jesus may not have looked very attractive physically as Isaiah tells us, but His clothes improved the looks. In addition He was good hearted, related well with people. Sympathized with those in trouble. Helped those in need. All these made His physical appearance improved and lovely. Your clothes and your character and how you relate with people can totally cover for shortage in good physical appearance. That means, we can all look good, if we work on these other items too!

1 Peter 3:3-4 (NIV) – 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

The Bible also addresses extreme focus on external beauty. It is good to be concerned about physical appearance but it’s not good to be obsessed about it. We need to have a healthy balanced approach to our physical appearance. Avoid extremes of obsession and the other extreme of neglect. The totality of Bible teachings on physical appearance is balance without extremes of neglect and obsession.

May God help us to look good. May we look good without extremes of neglect or obsession. May we look good with good characters. May we look good to the glory of God. Amen!

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