Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder

This post comes a few weeks after the hub-bub on the internet regarding some photos. Needless to say it has more to do with who is in the photo than the photo in and of itself. Sure, Miss Miley Cyrus has the devout loyalty of girls between the ages of 10 and 14 and some even beyond that but her latest photo shoot with Vanity Fair has caused an uproar.

I rolled my eyes a bit at the commotion but when I was out on my run/walk the other week, I saw a section of newspaper, still tucked in its handy plastic bag, on a stranger's driveway. The only portion I viewed was this picture of Miss Cyrus and I guessed the paper was probably taking her to task.

Now I have seen the photo in question and have read Miss Cyrus's view on it. She thought it was "artistic" and when she viewed after the shoot, she and her mother loved it.

I haven't been able to understand this pop culture queen. She is a 24 year old in a 15 year old's body. That's entertainment, for you. However, you look at dresses she has worn and outfits she has paraded in front of cameras and it is kind of hard to get why everyone is upset about this particular photo. Change the sheet to a gown (keeping the same cut) and change the shoot to a red carpet, and there would be little to no bruhaha about it. A bit hypocritical?

And really what is beauty? Is it a photo such as the one Miss Cyrus is in? And who is to tell us what is beautiful? The culture? They have no idea. Is it all make-up and glamour?

"Instead, 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" (1 Peter 3:4). We seek what is beautiful in God's sight; not what anyone else deems as pleasing to the eye. Is it hard? Yes. Is it true beauty is twisted into an unrecognizable mess? Indeed, we live in a fallen world marred by sin. Yet, God in his mercy allows us to still see beauty and may we never exchange it for lesser things.

"For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise." Copyright 2008 by Hannah Miller

--HM