"Don't Be Ugly"

When I was around six (I really don't know how old I was, but for the sake of the story, I was six), I was playing with my older sister, seven and a half at the time, and her best friend, Kelley. I guess I was displaying my attitude to the world at this very moment, being a bossy little six year old. I really had no right to be bossy, especially since I was the youngest of the three of us. I didn't care. Kelley I guess had gotten fed up with little miss me and told me angrily, "YOU'RE BOSSY!" This comment would have most likely made the average little girl cry...but oh no. I came back with, "I'M NOT BOSSY...I'M BEAUTIFUL!" I had ruined Kelley's day because of my attitude. And in the end, my day was ruined as well because I got in trouble for my actions.

My mom always reminds me of this story. My attitude definitely isn't how it used to be, even though it could always use some help. I feel bad for Kelley because I showed her an attitude that didn't reflect who I was. Yes, I realize I was just a little girl and this is actually a very cute story. But think about it...how many people do you affect simply by your attitude?

Every time I have attitude around my mom, she always tells me, "Don't be ugly." She's not meaning physically, but she means internally. We live in a world where physical appearance is everything, or so the media says. But what about who we are? What about our personalities, our actions, or our attitudes? Shouldn't we try to make those things beautiful as well? Shouldn't that be more important that physical beauty? It seems to me that the world today is belittling the human, making appearance and materialism more important than the heart and soul of the person.

God doesn't care about what we look like or what we have. If he did, don't you think he would've sent Jesus as some high roller with the big bucks? Well let me tell you...he didn't. And I don't know what Jesus looked like, but he didn't even have an actual home during his earthly ministry. He was here and there and everywhere. He didn't have fancy clothes or nice things. All he had was the clothing on his back and the hospitality of people around him. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says:

"Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

Even though physical beauty attracts people's attention, it's the inner beauty that holds onto it. The most beautiful and wealthiest people in the world could be the loneliest if they have a bad attitude. It kills me when non-Christians refuse to go to church because they don't respect people around them who call themselves Christians. They say that they are hypocrites who don't live a Christian lifestyle. They don't have "the attitude that a Christian should have." You know why this kills me? Because in many cases, it's one hundred percent true. 

God didn't put us on this earth to turn people away from him. He put us here to draw people in, to draw people closer to him. How are we supposed to do this if we have a bad attitude. God isn't appealing if his followers don't reflect him. He didn't send us to be ugly. Not physically ugly, but like my mom said, I'm talking about the heart. We, as sons and daughters of God, are meant to have hearts for God. With these hearts, we are supposed to reflect the love of God to those around us. It's not a difficult thing to do. A simple smile. A friendly note. A wave. A phone call. Anything to let people know you care. 1 Peter 3:8 says: 

"Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted and keep a humble attitude."

Be who God meant for you to be. Have a heart for him and show that heart to others. Have a good attitude. Don't be ugly.