Shorter College hosts the Miss Shorter Pageant every year. It was last week. I didn't go. I never go. I used to feel bad, but then I got to really thinking about it. I've never really liked beauty pageants. It really doesn't stem from jealousy at all. Being a guy, I never felt the urge to sign up. The idea of a beauty pageant just seems completely judgmental and shallow. I'm not trying to downgrade any winners of beauty pageants. I'm sure you worked hard and deserve your titles. I'm simply not a fan of the system.
I promise theres a point to what I'm saying.
We all know what a beauty pageant is. Typically, there are three areas of judgment: Overall appearance, talent, and personality (correct me if I'm wrong, I've never been to one). When we
look at those three things though... who is anyone to say that one is greater than the other? Aren't we born with our appearance, have our own unique personalities, and have areas we are skilled at and those that we are not? For the most part, these aren't things we can control. It's what makes us who we are.
As long as you are true to yourself, you should never have to consider your traits as "worthy" or "unworthy" of this world. You should never have to compare yourself to others.
Yet, it seems like the more I think about it, a lot of things work like a pageant. Society has this invisible beauty contest in effect, where people feel like they need to have the best looking cars/houses/clothes/bodies/whatever. They have to be the best at what they do and have an attractive personality or risk losing their job. Companies have to top each other with their software and products. Everyone seems to be wrapped up in some beauty contest.
Even the church.
Many times, churches focus on having the biggest and prettiest building, the best praise band/choir, the most members, and a charismatic pastor who gives the best-sounding sermons, says all the right things, and who everyone loves.
But is that what its all about? Would Christ win a modern-day beauty contest? He was hardly ever clean shaven, had bruises and scars, said things that were convicting and unpopular, and He was even considered to be crazy and a heretic by some. His own followers disowned Him and watched Him die a painful, slow death on the cross.
And yet there could never be anyone more beautiful or glorious.
I hope that in my writing, I convey the type of messages that reflect His love and a blog that reflects His beauty rather another attempt at being the sleekest, loudest, most attractive place in the blogsphere.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and stick around.
-Zack
