ANOTHER NATION, ANOTHER WAR – Can beauty save our world?
On Wednesday 27 November, the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched the largest offensive against the Syrian government in years. By Sunday, they had taken control of “large parts” of the country’s second-biggest city, Aleppo, and were advancing towards Hama in the south. Pictures of soldiers being executed flooded the internet and a new wave of fear gripped the hearts of Syrians. By Monday bombing strikes were launched by Syrian and Russian jets in retaliation. Syria is reliving the horror of a 13-year war and it seems like hatred has once again triumphed over humanity and civility.
This new wave of terror added to the supposition that the world is spiraling out of control, spinning into an abyss of suffering without any sense of slowing down soon. Has God lost control?
- 92 nations are currently involved in warfare with 1 out of every 4 people in the world affected.
- Gaza tops the list with more people being killed in the space of 100 days than any other war before it.
- The war has also witnessed the death of more children killed in conflict than in any other war of our generation.
- Consider the death and destruction of the equivalent of 6 Hiroshima bombs being dropped on an area half the size of London.
But, according to the UN, there is one human catastrophe greater than that of Gaza that continuously escapes the eyes of Western Media: Sudan. As of September, the United Nations reported that at least 9,000 people had been killed since the start of the conflict, most likely a significant underestimation, and 5.4 million forcibly displaced, including 4.1 million internally and over 1 million to neighbouring countries.
We can continue with heart-rendering stories from Lebanon where young people in their twenties are now experiencing their 5th war. One out of every four people in Lebanon has been displaced in a matter of three months. With a bitter cold winter approaching the prospects of survival seems as unlikely as does the prospect of Israel and Hezbollah keeping their commitments to the ceasefire.
Is there any hope?
And then I was reminded of a quote by Russian philosopher, novelist, and journalist, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky: “Beauty will save the world”
Out of context, considering all that is happening in the world today, it’s easy to dismiss this quotation as hopelessly naive or optimistic. But it seems like for Dostoevsky “beauty” transcends aesthetics, and is what inspires the best in us, our aspirations for what is good and true, and what connects us to each other.
In that case, Dostoevsky’s remark, “Beauty will save the world”, was perhaps not a careless phrase but a prophecy. After all, he was granted to see much, a man of fantastic illumination.
But what is Biblical Beauty – that inner beauty that radiates light and is most visible when it is dark?
Peter 3:3-4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornments, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
Beauty, the most evident and attractive virtue of all, is about becoming. Adding outward adornments can make you beautiful but only by adding inner virtues can you become beautiful. We have all met beautiful people who lack beauty. Beauty radiates grace. The more we are filled with virtues of grace – kindness, gentleness, friendliness, tender-heartedness – the more we become like Christ, and His beauty then radiates through us in a broken world.
So what does this mean? As a virtue, beauty seems a little elusive. After all, isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder?
Firstly, no it’s not. The perspective of the beholder will not determine the beauty or the lack of it. A blind person does not determine the beauty of a sunrise because he cannot see it. The beauty radiates regardless of the lack of visibility in the eyes of the beholder. The rubble of Gaza will not detract from the beauty of Christ which is to be found in every believer living a life of grace and kindness.
But to unpack the virtue of BEAUTY we need to understand that beauty is not one singular attribute. The easiest metaphor would be to compare the virtue of beauty to a picnic basket. It needs to be filled and then unpacked for its value to be appreciated. The basket on its own is of little value but once we add the ingredients of sweetness, appropriateness, goodness, godliness, purity, and transparency it becomes appealing, desirable, and contagious.
To a large extent truth has replaced beauty in modern Christianity. It is so much easier to demand submission to the teachings of Christ than it is to radiate the beauty of Christ. Judging people is a lot easier than loving them and condemning sinners is a lot easier than forgiving them.
The inner beauty of Jesus must have made him profoundly appealing and attractive. He sat with children[1], He touched the unclean[2], He stopped for the blind beggar[3], He dined with the despised[4], He welcomed the outcast[5], He defended the guilty[6] and He befriended the scorned[7] . There must have been a sweetness in His presence as He radiated purity, godliness, and goodness. He attracted those who found His beauty irresistible. Only the religious were offended.
Think about that.
The religious, those who build their theologies on rules and regulations, will always be offended by the magnificent beauty of grace. We need to embark on this thought with a renewed understanding that religion does not create an inner beauty. Theology does not attract. Becoming more religious will not make us more appealing. Becoming Christ-like will.
Richard Rohr sums it up as follows:
“Christianity is a lifestyle—a way of being in the world that is simple, non-violent, shared, and loving. However, we made it into an established “religion” (and all that goes with that) and avoided actually changing lives.
One could be warlike, greedy, racist, selfish, and vain in most of Christian history and still believe that Jesus is “personal Lord and Saviour.” The world has no time for such silliness anymore. The suffering on Earth is too great.”
Paul, as a spiritual fashion designer, described the “dress code” for believers who seek to adorn themselves with beauty as follows: “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. To bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you have a grievance against someone. To forgive as the Lord forgave us. And over all these virtues to put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14)
Paul does not include truth as a garment of beauty because truth defines beauty, it doesn’t display it. For all who believe, confess, and proclaim the liberating, forgiving, loving, sustaining, and empowering Christ, this needs to be the garment worn, visible for all to see. Our social media posts, opinions we love to hand out, our vocal and sometimes unkind sentiments – these will all reflect whether we are clothed with beauty or not.
We may assume that inner beauty is something we can only feel and never see. But how true is that? Almost all the time, we notice a person’s physical appearance only for a moment, until the real inner beauty starts the attraction game. We may speak to someone for a minute and find them pleasant or not-so-pleasant at first. But as the conversation goes on for a minute or two, we may start to pick qualities and traits, and without even realizing it, we may start to find a person more and more beautiful or charming.
I recently stumbled across a slide show dedicated to the famous actress, Audrey Hepburn (made famous in the movie My Fair Lady), with quotes and pictures showing her in her dazzling youth and her radiant maturity. As a child in the Netherlands, Hepburn nearly died of hunger in a country devastated by World War II, and was rescued by the UN refugee programme. Towards the end of her life as an illustrious actress, she was asked about her beauty secrets. She replied with remarkable grace:
- For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others;
- for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness;
- and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.
- For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
- For beautiful hair, let a child run her fingers through it once a day.
- People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody.
- The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole.
- True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
- It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows.’
Even Peter, the disciple with arguably the shortest fuse of all the disciples, had something to say about this after he was filled by the Holy Spirit. He referred to this as the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Sadly, in a modern age of social media creating platforms of spiritual rage and Christian unkindness, this virtue is practically on the verge of extinction – and so is humanity.
In a time where it takes so little to make sweetness disappear, purity vanishes and godliness evaporates, let us pursue beauty for the sake of Christ. Let us become imitators of Him who was the embodiment of inner beauty. Let us adorn our truth with virtues of beauty.
[1] Matthew 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
[2] Matthew 8:2-3 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
[3] Mark 10:49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”
[4] Matthew 9:10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.
[5] Matthew 9:32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.
[6] John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
[7] John 4:7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”