Fleeting

This is the latest in my new series "God-Breathed."  It's called Fleeting, after Proverbs 31:30...

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Fleeting
oil on canvas
30x20 inches
2015

I have been involved with youth ministry for 11 years, both professionally and on volunteer basis.  And in all that time, one thing has remained the same even in the evolution of social media that has taken place in the past decade.  I'm talking about vanity.  The preoccupation with physical looks, selfies, body image, and its association with self-worth is insane.  It's no news flash that this is particularly true for girls.  And not just adolescent girls.  So for this painting, I wanted to have a representation of a figure trapped in darkness - someone consumed by this preoccupation with physical beauty (My sincere thanks to nemosocke of DeviantArt and Nadja M. for the extraordinary photo reference).

There has recently been a movement of girls and women of all ages that goes back to this passage of Scripture in Proverbs 31.  It is the attitude that the worth of women are defined by so much more than their physical attributes, but by their hearts, their devotion to the Lord, and the fact that they are the Imago Dei.  No matter how physically attractive any of us thinks we are, and no matter how much time and effort we spend trying to maintain that... It is all vanity because it will fade away, but our faith sustains us no matter what our age or physical appearance.  That cannot be a back-burner priority for us.  True beauty begins within the depths of the heart.

Take as many selfies as you want.  But you can't take any of them with you in the afterlife.