Have you ever wondered how Jesus would have felt if he had a bad haircut? I have read my Bible from cover to cover and I can’t recall any mention of Jesus and haircuts. I think He probably had His hair trimmed from time to time. I imagine Jesus’ hair the way I have seen it depicted in pictures: long, curly, and glossy. He looks like an attractive man.
For me, this has been the excruciating year of horrible haircuts. It started right before Christmas when I went in for a “new do.” I had a hairstyle in mind that I thought it would look good on me. I came out of the salon looking like the Sherman Williams Dutch Boy. It was so bad that I woke up all night long despairing and mourning my lost hair! The next day, I called a friend who was a hairdresser and asked if she could “fix” it for me. She did, but it was very short. I was so embarrassed and I wanted to put my head in the sand like an ostrich and never come up for air.
That was just the beginning. I had a series of bad haircuts that followed. And now I have another one. It is much shorter than I asked for and the right side is one inch shorter than the left. I am mourning the cute and edgy haircut that perished at the salon. I’ve been in mourning for over a week now! I’ve learned how to straighten the right side to make it appear longer and to curl under the left side to make it shorter.
I confess that there must be something desperately wicked in my heart for me to be so affected by a haircut. I don’t know if it is called pride or vanity or self-conceit, I just know that having a bad haircut makes me sad. I don’t feel good about how I look so I just don’t feel good at all. I want to stay at home and hide my bad hair.
As I was praying about the lop-sidedness of my hair, I heard the Lord day, “Just don’t look so closely.” The problem is that my eyes are fixed on me. They are glued to the mirror which reflects only me. If my focus is on me, then I can’t fix my eyes on Jesus or be focused on the needs of others.
I am asking God to give me a joy and peace that draws from something other than my appearance. I want to have a joy that remains when my colorful clothes, flashy jewelry, makeup, and cute hair are removed. I need a joy that goes deeper than skin deep and that is not demolished by a bad haircut. I need a joy that springs up from something else. A rock. A cornerstone. A security. That sounds likes Jesus to me.
How would Jesus have dealt with a bad haircut? It would not have fazed him. Jesus did not come to the earth to be a handsome face for men and women to admire. Isaiah 53 says that He did not have an attractive appearance. Did you hear that? Jesus was not an attractive person, yet He changed the whole world. I want Him to be my example.
What about you? Is there an aspect about your physical appearance that you are proud of and that you draw your joy from? I encourage you to ask God to help you dig deeper and find a source for your joy that cannot be shaken. I’m digging with you.
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