A newspaper report this week revealed that the issue of most concern to Australian 11-24 year olds is that of body image. Apparently both male and female youth are fairly obsessed with their body. How cruel is our society that we have engendered a fear in our young people that their body may be unacceptable to others. Maybe this is the reason why so many are opting for crazy diets, cosmetic orthodontics and plastic surgery. Previously such body enhancements were only available to that mega-stable sector of society, you know, the rich and famous, the Hollywood glitterati, due to its high cost but now we are all supposed to be able to afford it.

Once we worked hard to survive, then we worked hard to have plenty, after that we worked hard to enjoy our leisure and now we work hard to have a medically engineered body that turns heads in public spaces. Why do we do it? Maybe its because deep down we are all vain. Maybe its because we think looking good makes us feel better about ourselves. Maybe its because deep down we all want to feel acceptable to each other and the only way we can do that is to paint the outside enough times to hide the rust.

What pressures have we led our children into? Didn’t Jesus say that humanity looks upon the outside but the Lord looks upon the inside? What message have we given to our children? It’s all about looks? It is my prayer that our church teaches the truth about looks, which is, they are only skin deep. The Lord calls us to be authentic people who have hearts that reflect Him rather than bodies that reflect super models or sports stars. One day our bodies will rot (in spite of all the chemical preservatives) but our souls will live on to face the consequences. Let’s be people of substance and if that substance is surrounded by levels of fat then so be it!

In love and lard,   Alan