Within the world that we reside we are constantly bombarded with stimuli that create reactions in an instant. Some are positive–the moment that we catch a whiff of our Mother’s bread baking in the kitchen, or a beautiful sunset behind lush mountains. Some inspire a negative response- abandoned ruins, harkening back to older days of glory, or the remains of a long-forgotten trash bin. Whatever the object might be we quickly make assessments on if we like or dislike something regardless if we have thought deeply about the proper way of approaching beauty, and with it the topic of Aesthetics.
As believers it is important that we do not go about life without thoughtfully looking at the reasons for our actions and desires. While we naturally react to certain stimuli, we must also hold in the balance that we are fallen creatures, tainted with the stain of sin. Therefore we must look at what God has to say about beauty, and whether of not it is a worthy end to pursue. Ultimately we must remember that the unexamined life is not a life that is worth having. As stewards of this world that we have been given, we must look to the Bible at how we should approach this idea of beauty, namely why beauty is important, and what our response to beauty ought to be.
God’s Word begins with the creation of the ideal world for humanity. Through the power of God’s divine word the earth is shaped into a creative masterpiece with man as the crown. God then creates the perfect home for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 1-2). Throughout this entire narrative God constantly has the refrain of saying that what He created was good. This points to and shows that God is creative and calls the things that He makes good. Everything about God’s creation is made in perfection. Likewise, we who have the image of God in us can share in the communicable attribute of God’s creativity (Gen 1:27).
God sets the standard of beauty as perfection, and every artist ought to strive for artistic excellence as well. It is important to know that beauty is not an abstraction, rather all beauty flows out of the Beautiful One. God is the ultimate beauty (Isa 33:17). The greatest of all desires is to dwell in the presence of the Lord and behold His beauty (Psalm 27:4). This means that everything else is seen as beautiful it is because it is a reflection of God. The clearest example is God’s creation. When one looks out at the night sky and sees the vast array of stars and planets it is impossible not to witness the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). Ultimately, nothing can ever be beautiful apart from God. Beauty is therefore a worthy end to pursue, as the pursuit of beauty is a pursuit into the very nature of who God is.
When creation was cursed by the fall God’s attribute of beauty was not affected, therefore while there were certain things that were diminished of their reflective quality of imaging God’s beauty, the connection was not obliterated. On the contrary, God is constantly making things new and beautiful, even promising to make everything beautiful in its time (Ecc 3:11). God calls His creation to desire and strive for beautiful things. When the temple was being constructed, God gave direction for there to be singers there who would devote their careers to making music unto the Lord (1 Cron 25). As a matter of fact, the first person in the Bible who is described as being filled with the Holy Spirit for a special purpose of God was the artist who made the Tabernacle (Ex 31:1-5). Even in this fallen world it is important for humans to continue to mirror God, and create beautiful objects.
Beauty is not something that just exists without a certain mandate to respond accordingly. Knowing that beautiful things draw their beauty from the Beautiful One, we know that we must be careful to not create our own definition of what beauty is. God often sees things differently than we do. When Samuel was looking for the next king of Israel after Saul he thought that the strongest and best looking of Jessie’s sons would be the top pick for the kingdom. However, God was clear in letting him know that He does not look at the outside appearance, but rather at the heart (1 Sam 16:17). Constantly throughout Scripture we find that God’s ways are not our ways when it comes to the perception of what is beautiful (Isa 55:8). When Jesus was anointed in Bethany his followers scoffed at the woman’s action, but he said that what she had done was beautiful (Mark 14:6). Therefore, we see that while beauty is something that we ought to strive for, it is also something that we cannot come to apart from the source-the Beautiful One.
In our response to beautiful things we must be careful to not worship created things in the place of the creator. The act of creating an idol is fundamentally about turning the focus away from God and onto created things (Lev 26:1). Our culture has a tendency of taking the things that are most beautiful and turning them into vices. What could be argued as the best part of God’s creation-woman, has been turned into an object, and set on the pedestal of worship. On the outside things may look beautiful to our sinful hearts, but inside all that can be found is death (Matt 23.27).
When we examine this world around us and discover the beauty in it we must remember that it is all drawn from the source of the created one. Nothing is beautiful apart from God, therefore, beauty is a worthy thing to strive after. Though our hearts are tainted with sin, and we run after the wrong things, it is still possible through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to long for and love beautiful things. In the end we must not insert these things in our hearts as things to be worshiped, but be held in thankfulness, as they are good things from above. Living a life with a biblical perspective of beauty will always be marveling at the one who makes all things possible and beautiful. And that is a worthy ambition in life indeed.
