The Cost of Wordly Beauty
Over the past six years I contributed to a few things that I have since turned away from. One of them is beauty content. I discovered after being a part of the makeup and skincare industry, influencer community and style expert… the more I elevated my external beauty… the less work I was doing internally. I entered a realm where Botox was not only accepted but the norm in faces. Lip injections and fillers to create plumpness was standard. My social media feeds were filled with so many products it was overwhelming. All the while I continued to feel like parts of me were chipping away.
America is one of the leaders in the world for cosmetic surgery, consumerism and products. Being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, we have a due diligence to help other people not just help ourselves. I think that’s where as Americans were really getting off track. We focus on getting more and more and more for our homes. We focus on getting more clothes the newest thing And for what? How is the serving us? How was the serving humanity? Why is it that the more we focus on our external beauty the less we feel internally, beautiful?
So I decided to take a break. I took a break from social media where you can read about in this post - https://three-heel-clicks.com/wwwthreeheelclickscom/2025/6/11/why-i-said-goodbye-to-seo-and-algorithms.
I’ve gone back-and-forth on whether these platforms are promoting negative energy or their promoting mission work from God. It’s been a debate in my own head for a long time. It’s a really slippery slope. One minute you’re trying to inspire and uplift others. The next minute you might be worried about how perfect you look in a photo is my hair. OK is my make up smudged? Do I look fat? Can people see I’ve had a baby and it’s taking me a lot of time to get back because I was breastfeeding?
The thing is none of this really matters. In fact, the more that we focus on self love the less capacity we have to love others. We become absorbed in ourselves, and it shows in our finances. How much money do you spend on yourself every month? How much money do you contribute to the family? How much money do you contribute to the poor? How much money do you contribute to that? As I explore the Bible on these topics I realize that Jesus is pretty clear about what we should do with our money. This message is really really hard to accept so I know these words might hit a pain point in some of you. It was hard for me to digest as well.
I am not coming to you in this message from a judgmental place, because I, too, have been a part of consumerism. I, too have been a part of social media for about 10 years where I self-promoted. But shouldn’t we be promoting God? Shouldn’t we be promoting unconditional love? Shouldn’t we be promoting Jesus‘s love? Shouldn’t we be professing our faith instead of professing our looks? Over the last few weeks. I’ve been a great deal of time trying to get to the bottom of what I should do with my social media.
What should I do with finances? After spending that time looking through the Bible, I discovered two scriptures that made a big impact. One of them is in the Old Testament and it’s about giving 10% of your crops to the Lord as an offering.
When I look at my own face, I began to question how much have I given God? The second scripture I came across, talks about Jesus telling his disciples that if you have a shirt, you should give a shirt away to someone who needs it. John 11 in the Bible says, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”
So what does that mean for us as Christians? It means that we are supposed to live well below what we’re earning. If you follow the scriptures that would mean you would give 50% to someone who needs it and 10% to God, which leaves 40% for you to live on. Now I know this sounds crazy in a day where groceries keep rising and there’s taxes on anything important this seems like an impossible endeavor. But could it be that we’ve created a lifestyle bare minimum requirement that makes us feel like we can’t give to others?
Is America a nation of greed? And are you going to choose to move forward in that after reading this blog post or are you gonna make a decision to do something different? It may not be overnight and it may require getting a substantial amount of advising on how to migrate your finances from where you are to where God is calling you to be. But I believe that when there is a will and it’s aligned with God there is a way. You cannot take your things with you when you die. The treasures you are storing up on earth will not go with you into heaven.
God says in the Bible to store your “treasures in heaven, not on earth.” He also mentioned blessings and blessings are not just monetary possessions or money. Blessings can be in the form of joy, peace, happiness, and the fruits of the spirit, gaining humility and patience in place of consumerism and greed.
What can you do right now? You can spend the next 30 days of your life and pull out anything you don’t use regularly give it to the poor. Don’t sell it. Give it to the poor. Next you can evaluate where you live can a family with four kids go down to three or four bedrooms instead of five. You can you go from two living rooms to one living room, minimize square footage, saving on heating and cooling and cost so that you can contribute to others who desperately need it. Can you reevaluate your food budget and a couple days a week scale back on the amount of meat that you buy processed foods and things that are simply cost more? The truth is you have the power to make changes. The joy that comes from giving to others who need it more than you is a joy far greater than having all the riches in the world. I encourage you to take control align yourself with God understand what Jesus is saying and commanding us to do if we follow him and reach out to those in need.
For more inspiration follow on Substack here ➡️ https://substack.com/@crystallowy?r=30cjvl&utm_medium= ios
xoxo Crystie
