Is it wrong for women to wear makeup?
Hi, welcome to today's Little Lesson.
We do get all kinds of questions and today's question is one we've received more than once.
Some of our honest viewers, sincere viewers, want an answer.
Is it wrong for women to wear makeup?
The reason that it is sometimes felt by some within the body of Christ that it's wrong
is because it's based on vanity.
You're trying to make yourself more attractive in a vain way, so therefore it shouldn't be
done.
Well, I think it's worth thinking about a little bit, because we really can't find any
specific condemnation in scripture over women wearing makeup.
I think we can also think to ourselves that it can't be totally wrong to be taking care
of yourself so that you're at least not repulsive to other people.
We are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves, and so that's one reason why it's good to
brush your teeth and good to use a breath mint and accept any breath mint that is offered
to you, never turn one down.
It's good to comb your hair.
If those things are vanity, then we could just follow that logic and say we should not
brush our teeth or comb our hair or do anything to make our appearance acceptable or even
pleasing to other people, and that we should all look like neanderthals, with long unkept,
uncut dirty hair and dirty faces, and horrible breath, because we sure don't wanna be vain,
do we, focused on ourselves, no, no.
I believe that taking care of ourselves can also be an act of love towards the people
around us, by the illustration that I've just offered.
What's so interesting is legalist are always setting certain standards, they'll draw a
line somewhere and they say, "Here's the standard."
But the standards are often arbitrarily set and they violate the very principles that
they espouse by setting a standard at a certain place and then everything's okay, that's on
one side of that standard, but everything's not okay, that's on the other side of that
standard.
So in some circles it's a sin to wear makeup, but you're expected to at least comb your
hair, and either one could be considered vanity, if you wanna look at it that way, but it can
also considered an act of love.
Now women, God made them beautiful.
God made them to be attractive to man.
Dear female viewers, if you don't know that you don't know much yet.
Men like to look at women, because they're beautiful in their eyes.
Not just their faces, they're beautiful in form as well to men, that's how God made them.
If you are a married woman, well then you can walk in love towards your husband by asking
him this question.
Don't send it to Little Lessons, who am I to be telling you what you should be doing
or not doing, as far as making yourself attractive in one way the other, I don't know what your
husband likes.
We know of course that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, we know that a lot of beauty
standards are purely cultural and we're taught what makes a person attractive and what doesn't
make them attractive, these are arbitrary standards set by cultures often times.
I've been at some places where I'm amazed at what they've determined is beautiful.
I've been to some strange places, in remote parts of Africa and Asia, and my, my, my.
I'm thinking of the Turkana women, in Northern Kenya for example, they have these elaborate
beads, colorful, colorful, rows and rows and rows and rows and rows of beads they put around
their necks.
They are colorful and they're living in this desert environment where there's virtually
no color and the only thing colorful are the beads and the clothing of the women.
In fact, the man indulge in very colorful clothing as well.
If I lived in a desert where there everything was blend and the same color, kind of tan
or brown, I'd be thankful for some colorful clothing and some colorful beads to let my
eyes see.
I think we should best answer this question, are we walking in love in what we're doing.
If you are a married women, then I think it's a loving thing to ask your husband, "Dear,
would you like for me, or how much or how little, if do you want makeup or no makeup,
long hair, short hair?", whatever and do your best as to please him.
I think that's okay for husbands to do the same thing, "Do you like this beard, you want
it to be unkept and scraggly or do you want no beard, hair, how do you want?"
You're trying to walk in love, speak the love language, show the other person that you do
care about what they think and you're trying to please them.
Now if you're unmarried, you got a little bit more difficult situation.
But let's face it, part of the whole premarital game that we have to play is you're trying
to make yourself as attractive as possible.
Again, I've emphasized this in other Little Lessons, not just your outwards appearance,
but also of course your character.
These are much more important things, the character issues.
But let's face it, the physical side is a part of it.
You're not just marrying someone's character.
When you get married you're marrying the whole person, and that person is in a body, and
that person has a face.
Oh, the funniest thing I think I ever heard on this question was by old Pentecostal preacher
who said, "I think in some cases it's a sin for some women not to wear makeup."
Okay, but not totally sure what he was trying to convey there, but I think he's trying to
say that maybe it's not so wrong.
There are groups that are just dead set against it of course, and if you're a part of one
of those groups, well they're gonna judge you if you don't conform to their standards,
which they have set.
They're gonna quote you some scriptures about Jezebel painting her eyes, but I bet you Jezebel
brushed her teeth too, and so that doesn't make it wrong for you to brush your teeth
or necessarily to wear a little eye makeup.
I'm gonna think about whether I will continue this on the next Little Lesson.
I think I will.
Alright, it's amazing, you can go two Little Lessons on this subject.
Thanks for joining me.
God bless you.