Welcome back to my five-part book review of Girl Defined by Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird! In my previous book review post, part two, we discussed what biblical womanhood is. Now we'll be going over how to apply God's purpose for women to three aspects of our lives. This is the Girl Defined Book Review – Part Three – When it Comes to Beauty, True Love, and Hard Work.
Kristen and Bethany start the "Beauty" chapter off with the example of Kylie Bisutti. In 2009, she won the Victoria's Secret Model Search and became a Victoria's Secret Angel practically overnight. She went from an average nobody to a superstar model. Then, after one year of modeling, she quit. She then published a book, I'm NO Angel: From Victoria's Secret Model to Role Model. She quit the modeling industry to pursue something much more fulfilling: Jesus. After being in a world where women were only defined by their outward appearance, she learned something very valuable. "A woman will only be content with her physical appearance when she stops basing her worth and value on what others think of her and, instead, starts living to please Christ." One of the biggest reasons we feel insecure is because we try to please the world's expectations and fall away from God's love. We take our eyes off of Him and look at ourselves instead. We become self-focused instead of Christ-focused, and that becomes the root of our insecurities. Kristen and Bethany write about how you can tackle those insecurities: "You must remind yourself that no amount of beauty, compliments, or popularity can replace the fulfillment you find in your relationship with Christ. As Kylie learned, being drop-dead gorgeous on the outside can't bring a woman lasting fulfillment and security on the inside. Those things are found only when a woman chooses to base her value in what Christ thinks of her and not in what the world thinks." Now, that is not to say that physical beauty is a beast. It is a wonderful gift from God, and when viewed from a biblical perspective, it can be really fun! It's not a bad thing to enjoy wearing makeup and dressing up. As long as your appearance is not an idol, and your security is found in Christ, it is a fabulous way to enjoy the femininity God has blessed you with. Moving on to "True Love," let's take a look at what the culture around us defines "love." Our culture sees love as someone who makes you happy. However, that's not what God's definition of love is. If we just look at 1 Corinthians 13, we get a perfect idea of what God's definition of love is. It's not just someone who makes you happy. It's a mutual effort to sacrifice your own selfishness for another person. The Greek word most commonly used in the Bible for "love" is agape, and it literally translates to "self-sacrifice." Kristen mentions this quote in the book: "Love is best shown as devotion and action, not an emotion. Love is not exclusively based on how we feel. Certainly our emotions are involved, but they cannot be our only criteria for love. True devotion will always lead to action – True love." We must let Christ define our view of love, and guess what? Jesus was the ultimate example of sacrifice for love. God calls us to love others the same way that he does in Ephesians 5:1-2. Now, if you are a single girl (like me) you may not have to worry about a romantic relationship and "true love," but it's important to know what God's idea of love is. Finally, we reach the "Hard Work" portion. If we take a look at what people consider "success," it's all focused on a person's career. The pressure to become successful is pushed on us the moment we are old enough to get a job. In my personal life, this is actually a very prominent topic. I work in a real estate office. I've traveled across the country for real estate conferences and met people from all over America who have been super successful in the real estate industry. I really enjoy my job, and many people look at me and say that I'm "going places" because I've started out so young in real estate. However, when these successful people ask me what my plans for the future are, I rarely tell them about my plans to become a missionary. I'm scared that they will look down on me for choosing a humble occupation instead of the "successful" way. Our world only sees success in dollar signs. Kristen and Bethany describe it perfectly: "In the twenty-first century society a woman's job is the standard for measuring her success. We're told to 'get out there and work' so we can build our independence, become self-sufficient, embrace our liberation, and further our personal careers. As popular as this definition may be, it poses two major problems for us Christian women because (1) it leaves God completely out of the picture, and (2) it is always changing." This culture has told us to make our careers an idol. However, hard work is not a bad thing. It's actually mentioned as a good and godly thing in the Bible, but we are supposed to be working for certain reasons: (1) to glorify God, and (2) to bless and serve our families. A great example of a hard-working, godly woman is – you guessed it – the Proverbs 31 woman. She's working hard to serve her family and support her husband, and she puts God at the center of her life. Now, how do we figure out how to serve God in our careers? In their book, Kristen and Bethany go over the "What, Why, and When Filter." They say that it has helped them to determine whether their specific plans and goals are biblical and honor God. What is your goal? Is it possible that you can honor God through this goal? Why are you focused on this goal? Is it to honor God, or for your own glory? Finally, when in life do you plan on working towards this goal? Will you be single, married, or will you have kids? It all depends on what you're focused on in your season of life. Overall, does [insert thing here] honor God? If so, hooray! In this chapter, Kristen and Bethany gave guidance on keeping God a priority when it comes to beauty, relationships, and careers. Hope you guys learned something from this super long post! Next chapter, we'll go over how to choose God's plan over your own. Thanks for reading!
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AuthorHi, I'm Abigail! Welcome to my blog. Hope you enjoy! Archives
August 2018
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