1. It’s not about looks.

You are not defined by wearing all of the hottest trends, having the cutest hairstyle, or sporting the latest popular shoes. You are not defined by your outer self. God wants you to shine from the inside by sharing your heart! God says it’s what’s on the inside that counts. People will try to tell you that it’s important to stand out by making yourself unique, when they are only making themselves more like each other. A gentle and quiet spirit speaks volumes over striving for acceptable outward appearances any day.

Your body is simply a vessel carrying the more important spirit inside.

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—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. – 1 Peter 3:3-4

The world focuses on appearance; hair, make-up, clothes, skin tone, the entire body. They will nit-pick it to the very core. And yet, God looks past those things and straight to your heart. He knows who you really are despite what others may think. And even despite what you may think even about yourself.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. – 1 Samuel 16:7

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16

Your value is completely unrelated to appearance. Period.

2. It’s a temple.

After accepting Jesus Christ, your body is where the Holy Spirit lives. He wants you to take good care of His temple. This means eating healthy, getting proper exercise and rest, and abstaining from physical sin. 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Our bodies are already God’s, but offering them fully over to Him as a sacrifice is the ultimate worship to our Creator.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:1-2

3. It’s made just like God’s.

You weren’t made to be just like Selena Gomez or Madonna. You were made in the very image of our amazing Creator. You are so important that God made you with Himself in mind. That’s a pretty awesome blessing! He gave you similar characteristics and the ability to reflect His greatness. You aren’t called to absorb the world’s influences and then reflect that. Your body is a vessel for showing the world God’s character. 

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground. – Genesis 1: 26-27

4. It’s perfect the way it is.

You were made so perfectly precise the way you are. He put more thought than you can ever imagine into every detail of your body. He knows exactly how many hairs are on your head. Praise God for making you so uniquely you!

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. – Psalm 139:14

Comparison can be a terrible thing when it comes to accepting yourself. The images on TV, in magazines, and all over the internet are nothing but visual representations of physical appearance. They try to set a standard for you that this world wants you to live by. Do NOT fall for this false idea of who you need to be. God made you exactly how He wanted you to be. There is no need to try to be anyone else.

You will always be beautiful to God. He knows and loves you more than anyone else. After all, he DIED for YOU!

5. God cares about your body.

We’ve recognized that the most important part of our being is what is inside, yet we are also called to take good physical care of our bodies. Not because of looks, but because we have to be healthy to carry out the work on earth that God has called us to. It’s obvious that physical fitness is of some importance to God to be mentioned in the scriptures. He wants us to keep our body healthy both physically and spiritually.

Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8

He wants you to enjoy things that you can put into your body, yet…

Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. – Ecclesiastes 3:13

Everything in moderation. 

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  – Philippians 4:5

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31

Our bodies belong to God and they were made for a purpose: to worship Him.

 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. – Romans 12:1

And I finally I want to pray this prayer from Ephesians over my girls so that they understand God’s love and how powerful that it truly is. Pray this over your daughters too!

 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3:14-21