King James Version
9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth;
and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,
and walk in the ways of thine heart,
and in the sight of thine eyes:
but know thou, that for all these things
God will bring thee into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart,
and put away evil from thy flesh:
for childhood and youth are vanity.
It's a botox world.
Everyone wants to be young.
Everyone wants to look good.
Everyone wants to be best-looking.
Is that at all possible?
Sure, for the moment.
Until someone outdoes you.
And you can't bear that.
So, you outdo them, too.
The medical world, and aesthetic world, have raked in the bucks, as people get botoxed.
Or have plastic surgeries.
Nips, and tucks.
Augmentations.
The enemy knows man's weaknesses.
He's mapped it all out.
His influence is far, and wide.
Of course, surgeries, invasive and non-invasive, go wrong, too.
That's when corrections are made.
On, and on, these go.
Until such time the client is happy.
By then, he or she would have unrecognizable bodies, or faces.
One natural beauty influencer in England declared something to the effect that women who don't smile don't get wrinkles.
But where's the fun in not smiling?
Smiling causes wrinkles.
Frowning causes wrinkles.
Anger causes wrinkles.
Stress causes wrinkles
Illness causes wrinkles.
Sudden weight loss causes wrinkles.
Do wrinkles bother you?
Even new-born babies are called "wrinkly" people.
Why cover up wrinkles?
We all age.
We all grow old.
No one is above gravity.
EXCEPT for GOD.
Who created gravity, for a purpose.
You cannot fight gravity.
It's a given.
You cannot fight GOD.
He's the Creator.
You cannot be the most good-looking.
In a few minutes, another will be more beautiful.
I've noticed, especially in my own country, and city, that there are more beauty contests, after the initial covid crisis.
In certain cultures, older people go for very young people, that they may have youth.
Literally "feeding" upon the energy of the young.
How diabolic can that be?
There is that perpetual search for the fountain of youth.
The only fountain they don't search for is the FOUNTAIN of LIVING WATERS.
The enemy's having a heyday.
This preoccupation with self, is at an all-time high.
The methods vary.
But the neurosis doesn't.
We've all become beholden to vanity.
How pride rules this world.
Greed, too.
You want everything for yourself.
How idolatry has made this world fall.
You want to be idolized.
You want to be famous.
You want to be adored.
You want to be on top of the world.
Believers know there was someone like that, too.
Who fell hard, bringing a third of the angels with him.
The desires of man can never be satisfied.
The enemy makes sure it can never be.
And yet, when we grow old, the age shows.
It's inevitable.
The wrinkles show.
The body sags.
The body weakens.
And we look to the youth.
Jealousy steps in.
The enemy gloats.
Man is hooked.
Perpetually.
UNLESS GOD makes him born again.
All the foolishness stops.
Preserve not youth.
Preserve the soul, instead.
FOCUS on CHRIST.
He took on the humblest form.
Isaiah 53:2
King James Version
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground:
he hath no form nor comeliness;
and when we shall see him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him.
All JESUS cared about is to save the lost.
Luke 19:10
King James Version
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save
that which was lost.
Many are lost.
The enemy feeds upon that.
It's time to return to JESUS now.
Related material:
The Botox boom | 60 Minutes Australia
Gravitas Plus: The plastic surgery debate
Gravitas: The changing face of male beauty
Image: Unsplash
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