"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)
"If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred." (Walt Whitman, American Poet)
It's Easter.
It's that wonderful time of year when we reflect on that most matchless of Christ's gifts to us: the promise of eternal life with our loved ones through His Atonement and Resurrection.
It's that wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on the preciousness of mortal bodies, tabernacles worthy of even the Son of God and, thanks to His victory over death, integral parts of our eternal souls. What a wonderful thing it is to be alive!
But with the advent of the same technology that allows us to transcend the limits of geography and connect with our loved ones in ways previously unthinkable, we face the very real dangers of warped concepts of physical beauty and value for both men and women. Mses. Lexie and Lindsay Kite eloquently address this modern day danger in their insightful article "Beauty Redefined: Rejecting the Media's Impossible Standards," (http://ldsliving.com/story/63275-beauty-redefined-rejecting-the-medias-impossible-standards) by highlighting the "lies we buy," the current "battle to take back beauty," and the importance of "redefining [our] reality."
As husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, ours is the opportunity to protect the women in our lives from the tremendous psychological and emotional damage of "body hatred" by recognizing and encouraging feminine beauty in all of its wonderfully diverse and vibrant forms.
For wives, mothers, daughters and sisters, the opportunity exists to sustain and encourage virtuous, self-confident manhood by eschewing pop-culture's superficial criteria of masculinity.
As children of God, we have a sacred stewardship over our mortal "tabernacles of clay," a responsibility to get fit, eat healthy, dress with class, and express constant gratitude for the wonderfully unique gift our Heavenly Father has given each us.
Within this framework of safeguarding femininity, supporting masculinity, and reverencing the physical bodies entrusted to our care, what specific things can each of us do to "take back beauty" in this virtual age of ours?
"If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred." (Walt Whitman, American Poet)
It's Easter.
It's that wonderful time of year when we reflect on that most matchless of Christ's gifts to us: the promise of eternal life with our loved ones through His Atonement and Resurrection.
It's that wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on the preciousness of mortal bodies, tabernacles worthy of even the Son of God and, thanks to His victory over death, integral parts of our eternal souls. What a wonderful thing it is to be alive!
But with the advent of the same technology that allows us to transcend the limits of geography and connect with our loved ones in ways previously unthinkable, we face the very real dangers of warped concepts of physical beauty and value for both men and women. Mses. Lexie and Lindsay Kite eloquently address this modern day danger in their insightful article "Beauty Redefined: Rejecting the Media's Impossible Standards," (http://ldsliving.com/story/63275-beauty-redefined-rejecting-the-medias-impossible-standards) by highlighting the "lies we buy," the current "battle to take back beauty," and the importance of "redefining [our] reality."
As husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, ours is the opportunity to protect the women in our lives from the tremendous psychological and emotional damage of "body hatred" by recognizing and encouraging feminine beauty in all of its wonderfully diverse and vibrant forms.
For wives, mothers, daughters and sisters, the opportunity exists to sustain and encourage virtuous, self-confident manhood by eschewing pop-culture's superficial criteria of masculinity.
As children of God, we have a sacred stewardship over our mortal "tabernacles of clay," a responsibility to get fit, eat healthy, dress with class, and express constant gratitude for the wonderfully unique gift our Heavenly Father has given each us.
Within this framework of safeguarding femininity, supporting masculinity, and reverencing the physical bodies entrusted to our care, what specific things can each of us do to "take back beauty" in this virtual age of ours?
I find that we value what we sacrifice for. I value my body much more now that I run regularly. Not because it is better looking, (though to some extent it is) but because I have put in effort.
ReplyDeleteAmen to the connection between value and sacrifice. In that vein, I think we can also help others in our lives feel of their own value by sacrificing for them. To the extent our loved ones feel loved through our sincere compliments, small acts of service, recognition of their efforts (hurray for running!) or "just because" gestures of physical affection, they become more enabled to "let their light so shine." And isn't that beautiful?
ReplyDelete