Some People Only See Beauty When They Look in a Mirror

None of the really beautiful people I have known have given any indication that they thought they were the only beautiful people in the world. Most of them would point to some flaw when pressed on their looks. Everyone has a flaw if it is pointed out.

There are some people who think that their chief goal in life is to point out the flaws of others. They may do so as a critic who can distinguish real beauty from good looks. They point to a moment when the voice cracked in the song, the hesitation in a line in the play or the landing from a jump in a ballet. They say, "Not good!" whilc others gather around to listen.

Recently, I read that a former "Idol" said that he wanted his money back after seeing  the movie Les Misrables. He claimed that he music was horrible. I didn't see it or hear it that way. You see, when I see a beautiful painting I try to see the whole painting rather than the brush strokes. My admiration does not come because there are no flaws to be found. It comes in the whole of the painting. When I watched the movie, I did not see it as actors singing lines. I saw it as a story of redemption.

It was the story of redemption for the former prison inmate who sacrificed all for the sake of a child. He was transformed from one who would steal from a priest by a priest who gave him what he had stolen. It was the redemption of an orphaned girl and even a spurned love.  It was the attempt to redeem the policeman who hunted this former inmate, He didn't know what to do when he could not longer condemn the one he hunted.

I had seen the musical live twice. I was afraid that the movie would ruin that experience. However,  I felt that the big screen enhanced the story. I saw it all together not as performances that need to be critiqued.

Now imagine if we were to look at everyone that way. Right before us are stories of redemption. It isn't about whether we have it right and they have it wrong. It isn't about whether there are flaws in their lives. It is seeing the beauty within them. It is being kind and tenderhearted. It is forgiving all that has been done against us. It is joining with Christ as One who looks upon them as stories of redemption.

The beautiful people I know are more beautiful inside than they are outside.

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV) ³² Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.