In the name of The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit, all in One God.

Makeup

My brother is so irritating! Sorry to start this way, excuse my manners, please. But, if you knew my brother you would be angry too. He is the most strict person ever. We had a huge fight yesterday because he told me to stop wearing makeup. He said, by wearing makeup, I am telling God he made me ugly and that I must have a low self-esteem. He is plain out rude!

His arguments are out of line and presumptuous. The truth is I wear makeup for many reasons. Sometimes, I wear makeup to express myself. Makeup is an instrument that helps me express who I am. It is also an empowering tool that provides me with an opportunity to portray the picture I want the world to see. Makeup is also just a fun self-expression, like art. It allows me to be creative with my looks. Also, why are we not allowed to enhance our looks? I am not saying I am not pretty without makeup maybe I am just a bit prettier with makeup.

The irony of it all is my brother telling me not to wear makeup when he goes on to admire girls with makeup. Men are the reinforce-rs of women wearing makeup. It is a fact that girls get more attention from guys when they have makeup on than when they don’t. Hence, it is unacceptable when a guy says he likes girls who are natural but admires a girl with makeup and ignores the one without. I will have to talk to my brother and explain my frustration of him prohibiting me from wearing makeup.

Sina: Yared, do you have some time to chat? I want to talk about our fight yesterday regarding my use of makeup.

Yared: Sure, I have all the time for you Sina.

Sina: Well first thing is first, why do you not want me to wear makeup?

Yared: I can answer this on a personal level very easily, but I think it will be more effective for both of us if we talk about this from a Christian point of view. What do you think?

Sina: Sure, I am open to that.

Yared: On Genesis 1:27, the Bible says, God created us in his own image. If that is so, you are beautiful just as you are because God is perfect. When we own our God-given beauty we glorify God and his marvelous work.

Sina: Can't I wear makeup and still glorify God? By wearing makeup I am just enhancing my beauty not changing it completely.

Yared: Yes you can, but my point is that you are perfect just how God created you. When you say you want to change something about yourself, you are basically saying, “God you didn't do a great job on me, so I have to change my appearance in a way that makes me feel good.”

Sina: I know God created me beautifully but society makes me feel otherwise. The social norms our society has set up are unrealistic standards for women. In order for me to reach that standard, makeup is often a necessity not a choice. I am told every single day through social media and other means of communication that what makes me beautiful is makeup.

Yared: Social media, the main source of evil works has brainwashed us to think and feel less beautiful, especially to women.

Sina: If we are all created by his image, then why don't we all look alike? Why are some people viewed as more attractive than others?

Yared: I don't know why we all don’t look alike, but I am glad we don’t because that would be boring. The fact that we are all created in his own image but look different is proof that all humans are beautiful no matter what the media says. Viewing someone as attractive is personal, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ What might be attractive to me will not necessarily be attractive to you and vice versa.  The word “beautiful” is a subjective term.

Sina: That might be the case, but my need to wear makeup is also perpetuated by people at church. Whether people do it intentionally or not, they reinforce makeup by their actions. It’s the simple things such as pointing out, “oh you have pimples,” or “oh you have dark under eyes, you must be tired.”

Yared: Unfortunately, people that go to church are affected by social media too. When they say, “you have pimple or look tired” doesn't mean you have to wear makeup. They are just expressing what they see, you don't have to change for them. We can't please everyone, that's a lesson we all need to learn.

Sina: You have good points. Still, I can’t help but think you are saying all this because of your biological disposition to me. Of course, you are going to think I am beautiful without makeup, you are my brother. I wonder though when you are walking down the street, which girl do you turn around and look at; the one with makeup or the one without?

Yared: You are beautiful not because you're my sister because you're created in God's image. For some men, a girl with makeup might look more attractive than one without. But the person God provides for you, will love you for your insides first, everything else is just the cherry on top.

Elizabeth: There you are, two of my favorite people, what are you guys doing?

Sina: Hey sis, join us. We are talking about makeup. What are your thoughts about girls wearing makeup?

Elizabeth: For some reason, your question reminded me of a story. Once, there was a lady and God told her she would live for 400 years. Thankful she won't die anytime soon, she started living her life lavishly. As she aged, she started to change her appearance so she can remain beautiful all the time. However, she died early, before the time God promised her. Angry, she asked God, “Why did I die? You told me I would live for 400 years.” God said, “It was not you anymore.” After all her surgeries God could no longer recognize her. I guess makeup is like a temporary surgery. I wouldn't want to be unrecognizable to God so I try not to wear makeup.

Sina: Hahaha temporary surgery, I never thought of it that way. What you said about being unrecognizable to God is really scary though.

Elizabeth: Agreed. Going back to your question, I think makeup is a mask. We use it to hide our insecurities. Now, even without speaking from a religious point of view, it is problematic if it is been used as a cover-up for how we feel about ourselves. Why have girls become so dependent on makeup to feel pretty? Why can’t we feel pretty from our inner appearance or our intelligence? That said,  I don’t judge women who wear makeup because as a woman myself, I understand the pressure to wear makeup. We, women, are targets of constant advertisements for cosmetics and people telling us we are not good enough without makeup.

Yared: True, convincing women they are not beautiful is the only way those companies can sell their products and make money.

Sina: Wow, it’s a lot of how I feel in there. It would be great if our sense of self-worth came from other aspects of ourselves than our facial beauty. The issue is outer appearance is more valued than inner beauty nowadays.

Elizabeth: True, but we can change that, we don’t have to accept it as our reality. Physical beauty is very temporary, it fades with age or God forbid through accident. But intelligence, kindness, humor are unchanging with time. In general, we can depend on our inner beauties to remain constant or get better. My point is we need to strive to build on our character rather than obsessing with something that fades. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care if girls wear makeup but it is the reason they are wearing makeup that concerns me. If they are wearing makeup because they don’t like their face than that hurts me because it means they have been convinced by the advertising companies that they are not beautiful if they don’t look like the models wearing makeup in their products campaign.

Sina: I can agree with you on this, I also believe the reason behind the use of makeup is important. Some people use makeup for fun while others might use it because they are insecure. Makeup can’t be a mask for insecurities because we can’t hide behind makeup forever. Eventually, we have to deal with our face and whatever about it that makes us want to hide it.  

Elizabeth: Yes, I hear you! We can also stop making rich companies richer! The other downside of makeup is the financial toll it takes on women’s bank account. Makeup is especially targeted at women for financial gender division. If you notice, any item men use for beautification doesn't cost nearly as much as cosmetic products women purchase. Makeup is one of the most expensive items women spend a large amount of money on. Imagine, how great it would be if we supported non-profit organizations with the money we spend on makeup. Instead, we give our money to the million dollar makeup companies that cause us cancer.

Yared: Well said, Elizabeth.

Sina: Wow sis, you threw so much at me. You are right though. To think about makeup in that way is scary. I always thought makeup was a personal choice but with all the advertisement and societal pressure it feels like it is not a choice.

Yared: You can make it a choice Sina, don't let anyone force you.

Elizabeth: Speaking of choice, I once worked at a corporation that made makeup a requirement for work. My manager would imply that I need to look a certain way to uphold the company's image, which meant wearing makeup, dressy clothes, and heels.

Sina. I will confess, I started this conversation planning to never change my mind. I was going to argue with Yared even if he was right. The truth is, the fact that a man was telling me not to do something made me angry. I didn't want makeup to be one of the things we sacrifice because of men. Of course, I still think it's a personal choice and no man can or should tell a woman not to wear makeup. But, after having this conversation, I am able to see the drawbacks of makeup without any blinders. It is true, makeup is very expensive and some of it can cause us cancer. Even the biblical view aside, all the reasons above are enough for me to reconsider wearing makeup.

Elizabeth: I feel you, sis, it sounds different coming from a man than a woman. Conversations like this are easier to have with women mostly because they have similar experiences.

Deacon: Hi guys!

Elizabeth: Hi Deacon, you always come at the right time. We need your expertise. What are your thoughts about makeup? Is there a specific passage, chapter, or verse in the Bible that prohibits people from wearing makeup?

Deacon: You ladies always keep me on my toes with your questions. Before I give the biblical answer, I need to address that God only cares about our insides. So, “why do we need to wear makeup?” By wearing making up, are we glorifying God?

Sina: You are making similar points as Yared.

Deacon: Hahaha you know what they say, “great minds think alike.” As Christians, we are instructed to care about our insides only. The Bible says, “You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean” (Matthew 23:26).

Elizabeth: True, if we sanctify our inside we will not be too concerned about our outside. Our Orthodox icons are great examples to follow, they don't wear any makeup and those are the people we should strive to be, not the models in magazines or influencers on Instagram.

Yared: Exactly, society is growing to be more narcissistic and there is an over-importance placed on appearance. The Holy Scripture tells us, the most fitting decoration for a Christian is modesty. To wear makeup, especially in the church is a big offense. For the obvious reason that at church we might be in contact with the Holy Communion, Icons pictures, priest's hand, cross, and other holy items.

Deacon: Yared is right. Ladies, to answer your questions directly, here are some Bible verses.  1 Timothy 2:9-10 says, “women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” Also, 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Do not let your adorning be external... but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

Sina: I didn't know these verses existed.

Deacon: Here is one more, Jeremiah 4:30 says, “...you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.”

Sina: Thank you Deacon, now I know the truth about the Bible's view on makeup. It is more convincing when it’s coming from the Bible than when it is just a man's opinion.

Elizabeth: Indeed. When we have this conversation with girls we need to be careful not to judge harshly or shame them.  There is no instant transformation or metamorphosis. We are all at different stages in our spiritual life. Hence, the metamorphosis of each of us should not be forced rather gradual and gentle.

Deacon: It seems we are all on the same page now. May God help us adorn our internal beauty with good works and kindness.

Yared: Amen!

Sina, Bieza-natu, Yared, & Elizabeth.

Glory to God!