“ALTERING MY BODY IS IN THE SAME WAY DELETING GOD’S LIKENESS ON ME”
Almost everyday, I do put on minimal make-up just to add color to my pale facade. Whenever I dance, perform and go to parties, it’s a different volume of make-up, somewhat thicker and darker. But I’ve never undergone such cosmetic and plastic surgeries rampant in the beauty and fashion world today and I’ll never will. Yeah, it’s true that no pain, no gain. But, with the pain that people who have undergone such experienced, there has been no “gain” in return but only sin in God’s name.
I personally know a young lady who had her nose lifted and bridged. I don’t know exactly how the process is called but it’s somewhat similar to that. Randomly, I asked her why she had a surgery and she replied that she wanna be more beautiful and gain more self-confidence. I don’t get the point. I think we can be beautiful in our own little ways without spending and sacrificing a lot.
We are created in the image and likeness of God. As I say my own quote in the beginning of this paper, whatever that we do in our own body, is like doing it to God since we are created in His image and likeness. We are His lovely children so we really hurt God’s feelings whenever we do something wrong like this. We break the covenant and relationship we have with God.
Another virtue that cosmetic surgery violates is the virtue of contentment. How we look like, it’s what God has given to us and we should be thankful for there is really no reason why we exist right? But He has destined us to have an eternal and moral life with Him. In return, we are deemed responsible for being stewards toward our own body. And remember, God didn’t make ugly and unappealing creatures. The materialistic society today is the one that dictates what is beautiful and what is not.
Personally, I don’t like the way my family defines what beauty is. For them, beautiful means having long-rebonded shiny and smooth black hair, unblemished-white skin, high-bridged nose, long and slender legs, towering height of 5’7 and above, coca-cola shaped and curved body, red and rosy cheeks and lips, blue or brown eyes, long curly eyelashes- all these descriptions almost depicting the features of Barbie dolls and mannequins in the West.
God teaches us guiding moral principles and then we must try and do the most prudent thing while following our own conscience. It’s either we do it or we don’t but of course, we shouldn’t.
I understand that there are people who need to undergo such. I think that is alright it if it will not serve just the purpose of beautifying themselves but rather, making them look as normal as possible. They do it without any intention of violating their faith to Him. There are others who have their faces and body done when there’s no immediate need for it.
Cosmetic surgery performed out of undue concern for appearance could proceed from or lead to the sin of pride and vanity. It is only my opinion, but it would seem that unless there is some serious and valid reason -- and I am not sure that wishing to change one's appearance simply for its own sake is a valid reason or that such a reason is not prompted by pride or an undue concern for how we look rather than who we are -- one should tamper with that with which one has been blessed by God. It is another thing to undergo such procedures simply for the sake of "cosmetics" or to gain more "self esteem," something with which our culture is obsessed and yet which would appear as taking our focus off of God and placing undue attention on the self.
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