What Do Beauty and Money Have in Common?

Are you tired of doing mental gymnastics over your weight, size, or a certain part of your body? Do you feel like thinking about the way you look, physically, consumes more time and energy than it should?  Then, you have come to the right place.

Because I was in the exact same spot a few years ago.

Through the next month I want to share with you some of the secrets to how I found freedom. No longer do I spend all day long thinking about how I can lose weight or change the way I look. But, here’s what may surprise you: my freedom had absolutely NOTHING to do with my size or the number on that scale.

You see, most of us believe a lie and I want to expose it. Our body image issues aren’t solved when we change our bodies because our body image issues have very little to do with our physical bodies. They are, instead, rooted in what we believe in our hearts–what we believe about our value, our worth, and what is truly important to us.

The hard thing is, most of us know that our value isn’t tied to our appearance, but we just don’t want to believe it. This is where I believe beauty and money have a whole lot in common.

If I asked you today if having more money would make you happy, what would you say?

You’d probably say, “Oh, I know that.”

But, if I then said, “Well, do you want to try it and see? Here’s five million dollars — do you want to test it?”

What would you say to that? Likely a resounding, “Well, if you insist…”

Beauty is the same. This is where we get stuck in our body image issues.

Deep down we know the truth–that if we were beautiful we wouldn’t actually be any happier…any freer…any more loved…

But our hearts…well, they are a bit more stubborn. They prefer not to believe it. So, we say, “Hmmm…I can see what you are saying, but I’d still be willing for God to zap me into Carrie Underwood’s body…just to try it…”

Friends, today I ask you to meditate on this truth: Our body image freedom isn’t found in changing our bodies. The number on the scale can say ten (or 100) pounds less…and that still won’t make you free. In fact, you could look like a model and still be insecure. At least that’s what Cameron Russell talks about in this fantastic TED talk.  She was a Victoria’s Secret model but confesses that even the women so many of us aspire to look like wish they looked different!

What will set you free?

Need more encouragement? Check out Heather's books here, or her online course and coaching program here. You can also give the Compared to Who? podcast a listen, for twice-weekly encouragement with body image struggles from a Christian standpoint, where she explores all the nitty-gritty details we all face when struggling with body image woes and how to get free.