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Monday morning, while leisurely sipping my coffee to The Today Show, Hoda Kotb reported that the average woman spends about 12 hours each week worrying about her appearance, according to a new study. That can’t be right! I said to myself. Surely there’s been some mistake. So I hit Google for a little fact checking. The research, commissioned by Lycra Beauty, studied 2,000 women regarding beauty and body image. Unfortunately, that startling statistic was no fact error.

  • According to the study, the average woman…
  • Spends 12 hours and four minutes per week worrying about her appearance.
  • Spends 50 minutes per week deciding what to wear.
  • Spends one hour and 32 minutes per week worrying if their outfit makes them look good.
  • Spend 39 minutes per week deciding on lingerie.
  • Spends 46 minutes per week worrying about weight.
  • Worries about being too fat, too thin, too bloated, having spotty skin, pale skin and frizzy hair.

In case those numbers aren’t shocking enough, all this worry adds up to a grand total of 627 hours and 28 minutes each year. That’s almost an entire month! Surprisingly, only 48 percent of women studied said this was too much time. In my opinion, though, any amount of time spent in the company of fear and inadequacy is too much.

So what do we do?

I’d venture to say that Christian women are just as affected by fear of inadequacy as nonbelievers, myself included. But whether she realizes it or not, every single woman is wonderfully and beautifully made by God (Psalm 139:14). But biblical beauty isn’t just about attractiveness – it’s about the spirit.

The Bible says…

  • “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:10)
  • “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self his being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)
  • “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:7)
  • “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and 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.” (1 Peter 3:3-4)

A woman who loves God must also learn to love herself – inside and out. Of course, this is no overnight job; it takes time, dedication, prayer and a hearty spoonful of self-respect. God did not give us a spirit of fear or worry, but a spirit of power and love (2 Timothy 1:7). So as the New Year rolls in, let’s use this spirit to change the statistics. We have been perfectly crafted in the image of God, and that, friends, is something to be confident about.