Are You Unlovely?

Recently, one of my best friends shared with me a situation that she had undergone at work that reeked of unfairness, rudeness, and intolerance.   Nonetheless, she chose to behave in way befitting a Daughter of Christ, one that demonstrated grace, unforgiveness and humility. After telling me her testimony, she said something to me that I pray I will never forget. When I commended her for showing the Spirit of Christ, she simply said, “It’s hard to love the unlovely.” I paused for a moment and asked, “What did you just say?” “It’s hard to love the unlovely but we must,” she continued, “God forgives us so we must forgive them.” “Wow!” I thought while taking a moment to digest her powerful words of wisdom. “I adore how you put that,” I confessed, “and it’s so true!” “I know,” she quietly agreed.

Then I thought, we have all been unlovely at some time or another. Well…maybe I shouldn’t speak for you but I confess that I have. I pondered over how many times I put off visiting an elderly love one, only to finally see them again at their funeral. I wondered how many times had I disconnected a call in order to avoid completing a short survey for someone who had just given me outstanding service. Sadly, I shake my head at the countless instances that I have selfishly murmured and complained to someone who was worse off than me. These, of course, are only the ones that I can publicly mention!   Yes, Beloved, I am not proud to say that I have had many shameful moments at being unlovely. Praise God for His unwavering grace and mercy. If you, too, can admit to your own personal moments of unloveliness, be encouraged, Beloved. Our Eternal Majesty always has an ear to listen; particularly, when we confess and repent of our sins.

The world would have us to believe that loveliness is based on the size of a woman’s waistline, lightness of one’s skin, texture of hair, material possessions and/or lifestyle. However, there’s one particular definition that I found that sums it up nicely. It says, “attracting and inspiring love in others.” How profound! In other words, true loveliness has nothing to do with celebrity status, designer clothing, degrees, money, or our zip code. Real loveliness, dear heart, is measured by how often we consistently demonstrate the Spirit of Jesus Christ to others.   All in all, genuine loveliness is a choice in behavior, not an image in front of a camera.

Luke 6:35 NIV says, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

So, that next time that colleague becomes condescending…choose to be lovely. When that driver cuts you off on the way home from work…take a stand to be lovely. When that family member tries to pick a fight later on today… behave in a lovely manner anyway. For then, and only then, will we truly be the loveliest of all women.