Bible Text: Proverbs 11:22 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. Proverbs 11:22

The following actually happened at the renowned Crufts Dog Show in England—a rather snooty display of the best canines the world over. Danny, a Pekingese who was chosen as the supreme champion, was accused of having had—are you ready for this?—plastic surgery. In the end, the world heaved a collective sigh of relief when it turned out he won the title fair and square, based solely on the strength of his God-given assets. The then three-year-old show dog’s owner, Albert Easdon, told The New York Times, “The problem was that people couldn’t be satisfied just to say, ‘It’s a lovely dog.’”

The reality is that we humans aren’t much better satisfied. Not content with the way we appear when we look in the mirror, we’ve convinced ourselves that a good plastic surgeon can improve on nature.

Want to change your appearance radically without plastic surgery or going into debt? Try the following, guaranteed to make a difference.

Smile as you would at a child—not as you would, thinking you will be noticed by someone. Fact: Unhappy people don’t smile, but a genuine, sincere smile does more to change your appearance than plastic surgery. It makes your eyes sparkle. It opens up a reservoir from within your heart that can express love, joy, peace, and tranquility. “Keep smiling,” Mother Teresa used to tell her disciples and guests. And that’s what she did, in spite of pain and grief.
To radically change your appearance, focus on what really counts. When you are focused on your appearance, you acknowledge the belief that what you look like is far more important than what others look like or what their needs may be. Take a look around you and notice what needs to be done—what child needs to be fed and clothed, what lonely person needs a friend, what elderly, lonely individuals need someone to acknowledge their worth. See a need and fill it, and it changes your appearance. You cease to notice whether you have wrinkles under your eyes, or your hands are weathered, and you soften with a beauty that comes from within. Get out of your little world into the real world.
To change your appearance, undergo an attitude adjustment. Frankly, attitude is everything. Start by counting your blessings. Count your fingers and toes. Can you walk a mile? Got a best friend? Married? Children? Stop griping about what’s wrong with you and focus on what’s right. Ask God to forgive you for your preoccupation with self and give you a softness of heart that sees others, including their pain, their needs, and their losses.
To change your appearance, get involved with others. Nothing is so small as the person wrapped up in his own little world, thinking only about “how I look, how others think I look, and what I can do to look or act like someone else.”
To change your appearance, find a purpose for your life. That’s where God comes into the picture. For what are you living? You can have the most beautiful face, the most shapely body, and the most gorgeous clothes and be absolutely destitute within—no purpose, no reason to live, and should you fall off this planet, none would miss your or decry the loss of your friendship.

I’m all for striving to look your best, but let God make you over into the person He would have you to be, and you’ll not only live longer but happier, and—I can assure you—look better as well.

Resource reading: Colossians 3:12-14