Gems

We live in a world obsessed with movie stars and shiny cars and outward appearances. Let's face it, no matter what we say we are all too concerned with external beauty. To make matters worse, the ever ubiquitous media constantly bombards us with supposedly ideal images which encourage folks to accept clearly unrealistic expectations as the "norm" in many areas of our lives. We're told that real men and women should look like this and cars and houses and clothing should look like that. Then before we know it, we end up with a whole society suffering from an inferiority complex. In point of fact, however, external beauty does not make people happier. It doesn't make their marriages last longer. Nor does it prevent them from having eating disorders, overdosing on drugs or committing suicide. Indeed, if Hollywood or the world of overpaid professional athletes is any indicator, the effect of physical perfection and opulent living may be just the opposite. It sounds cliché, but real beauty is actually to be found on the inside. A beautiful heart and soul are what endear us to others in the long run. Those are the qualities that don't age or wear out. And in the end, those are the traits which endear us to God as well. Let us, therefore, be careful of our judgment based upon external beauty, which has a tendency to blind us to many of the more important traits in our fellow human beings. Worse yet, we are our own worst critics and often judge ourselves even more harshly than others. Yet, we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves for the mirror is a cruel friend and knows nothing of one’s heart or character. Many an amazing person appears as a diamond in the rough and wise is the man or woman who looks to the true gems hidden within ... where real and lasting beauty may be discovered by those who seek it.

Gems
In each of us there is a light
A spark divine and true
Trapped within our selfish lives
Just waiting to shine through
Like the priceless diamond hidden in
The stone beneath the earth
Which needs the miner and the cutter
To orchestrate it's birth
So it is with inner beauty
It lies waiting deep within
Like the diamond it stays trapped
Beneath our selfishness and sin
And no amount of exercise
Or cash or seminars
Can pierce the veil or change
The person who we really are
Real beauty can't be painted on
Or purchased or injected
And all our vain attempts, alas
Are lost and misdirected
For only God, who made us
Holds the power to unearth
The priceless gem within each soul
Waiting patiently for rebirth
But like a master diamond cutter
God takes each heart in the rough
Transforming it into a flawless gem
For He alone cares enough
To see the potential of our lives
In the light of eternity
God sees the masterpiece in each heart
And knows how to set it free
And once God uncovers the gems in us
We humbly realize
That the inner beauty was always there
God's love simply opened our eyes
By Frank Carpenter ©