Aging Gracefully: Teaching Kids About Beauty and God’s Design

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In this episode, we tackle a challenging question: "Is aging part of God's original design, and is using Botox wrong?" Join us as we explore what the Bible says about aging, beauty, and how to guide children in thinking biblically about these topics. Discover how to address your child's questions about makeup, Botox, and more, while modeling a Christ-centered approach to aging well.

Transcript

Note: The following is an auto-transcript of the podcast recording.

Hello, friends. Today's podcast question is, "I have a question I need help answering before I can talk to my children. Is aging and its effects a part of God's original design? Is using Botox and similar treatments to alter those effects wrong? And if so, where do we draw the line on things we do for our appearance? My son has specifically asked how wearing makeup is different from using Botox."

This is a really interesting question that we're going to dive deep into today. I’m sure that most children might not be asking these questions, but if we want to help them one day think biblically about the process of aging and aging well, we need to ensure that we understand biblically what Scripture has revealed and that we’re modeling aging well before our children.

For those of you I haven’t met before, my name is Elizabeth Urbanowicz. I’m the host of the Foundation Worldview podcast, where we seek to answer your questions so that you can equip the children God has placed in your care to carefully evaluate every idea they encounter and understand the truth of the biblical worldview. If you have a question you would like me to answer on a future Foundation Worldview podcast, you can submit it by going to FoundationWorldview.com/podcast.

Now, as I read this question, I realized that there are actually two separate parts within it. The first part is the question, "Is aging and its effects a part of God's original design?" And the second question is, "Is combating the effects of aging wrong?" So we're going to look at those two separate questions and then explore how we can help our children understand the biblical answers. Before we dive deep into answering these two questions, I would ask that you invest a few seconds to like this content, subscribe to it, and rate it. Doing so ensures that you don't miss a future episode and helps us get this content into the hands of more Christian adults who can help their kids carefully evaluate every idea they encounter.

So, the first question we're going to look at is, "Is aging and its effects a part of God's original design?" Now, for those of you who have taken your children through our Biblical Worldview or Comparative Worldview curriculums, you know that in those curriculums, we are training kids to ask, "What does Scripture reveal about this topic?" We always want our kids to be asking, "What does Scripture reveal about this topic?" And that’s a question we as adults should be asking anytime we’re thinking through an issue. So I’m going to go through several passages of Scripture that I think directly speak to this question: "Is aging and its effects a part of God's original design?"

Genesis chapter 2, verses 15 through 17, reads, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" And we know from Bible history that in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve rebelled against God. They ate from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and sin and death entered the world. This passage lets us know that death is a consequence of sin. When God initially put Adam and Eve in the garden, it was not part of His original intent that they would die. Now, did He know they would eat the fruit of the tree? Yes, He knew that—God has foreknowledge. He knows what we are going to choose to do. However, God did not set it up so that Adam and Eve had no choice and had to choose sin and death. God gave Adam and Eve a choice, and sin and death were not part of His original design. Adam and Eve chose to rebel, and sin and death entered the world.

Another passage that speaks to this is Romans chapter 5, verse 12, which reads, "Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin. And so death spread to all men because all sinned." This is another affirmation that death came through sin. We will all die one day unless Jesus returns before our appointed time. But death will come to all of us, and aging is leading up to death—it is our body slowly deteriorating. God’s original design was not that we would die, and God’s design for us in the future is not that we would die forever.

Revelation 21, verses 1 through 4, makes this clear. This passage says, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'" This passage makes it clear that when Jesus returns and makes heaven and earth new, death will be no more. So when we are resurrected into the new heaven and the new earth, our bodies will not grow old, decay, and eventually die. So death and its effects, the effects of aging, were not originally part of God’s good design, and they’re not part of God’s good design for us in the future. They’re temporarily part of our current world, where we as humans have rebelled against God and are facing the consequences of that rebellion—part of those consequences being aging and its effects.

So now comes the second part of this question: Is combating the effects of aging wrong? That’s a good question for us to think through. Now, there’s no verse in the Bible that says, "Thou shalt not combat the effects of aging." So when we don’t find direct Scripture verses, we have to look for biblical principles. I think we should ask ourselves, "What is the goal when we think about caring for our bodies? What should our goal be?" I think it’s clear that our goal should be to seek to glorify God with our bodies. We’re told multiple times throughout the New Testament that we are to honor God with our bodies. So, anything we do with our bodies should be done to God’s glory. Let’s consider some of the things people do to combat the effects of aging and ask ourselves, "Does this meet the goal of seeking to glorify God with our bodies?"

Think about working out—moving our bodies, keeping our heart and lungs strong, keeping our muscles toned. Does working out to stay healthy bring glory to God? Well, the answer is, it definitely can. Stewarding our bodies well so that we can live lives of faithful service to God absolutely glorifies Him. But we have to be careful. We can fall into a workout habit where our goal is not to have a healthy body to honor God, but to draw attention to ourselves. Just think about typical gym wear. Now, I know most people would say, "Oh, we need really tight-fitting clothing so that we don’t get caught up in any of the machines," and all that. And I don’t know; I’m not a gym rat, so I don’t know how much truth there is to that. But most clothing worn at the gym—I would assume the main goal is not health and safety, but rather so that people can admire how one looks. If the goal in fitness is purely for appearance, then that is not to the glory of God. It’s not about stewarding our bodies well; it’s about pointing people’s attention to us rather than to God. So, fitness can be done to God’s glory, or it can be done not to God’s glory. It depends on our motives.

Let’s think about creating a healthy skincare routine. This is something that many women try to do to combat the effects of aging. As we get older, our skin becomes less healthy, less hydrated; we start to get wrinkles, and spots may appear on our skin. Those of you watching on YouTube probably can’t see it right now because I’m using a webcam, and most webcams are designed to make people look better than they actually do. But if you were here with me in person, you would see that there are several lines on my forehead that just won’t go away. I have several lines on my forehead that are there permanently, and the older I get, the more lines I’ll have on my forehead and around my eyes. So, if I or someone else is creating a healthy skincare routine, can that bring glory to God? Well, it can by stewarding the body that God has given us. Every morning, I wash my face, put on some moisturizer, and apply sunscreen to protect my skin. If I never washed my face or cared about sunscreen, I wouldn’t be stewarding my body well, specifically my skin. So, creating a healthy skincare routine can be done to God’s glory by stewarding the body He’s given us. However, if we spend exorbitant amounts of money on skincare products and become obsessed with how we look—if we become obsessed with trying to deceive others into believing that we look younger than we are—that’s not bringing glory to God; it’s trying to grab glory for ourselves. Again, having a healthy skincare routine can be done to God’s glory, or it can be done for our own glory, which does not honor God.

Let’s specifically look at Botox, which was mentioned in this question. Does getting Botox bring glory to God? What’s the purpose of Botox? Botox involves injecting chemicals into the face, toxins that actually freeze the facial muscles. The muscles then relax, reducing wrinkles and giving the appearance of youth. Now, not always—sometimes Botox is done poorly, and people don’t look younger. But the purpose is to inject these toxins into the muscles in the face to look younger. Is this stewarding our body well? Is injecting toxins into our body to look younger stewarding our body? No, it’s putting chemicals into our body, which will ultimately harm it, all for the purpose of making oneself look younger. This is not bringing glory to God; this is trying to bring glory to ourselves.

Now, just as a caveat, I did some research before this podcast and found that Botox is sometimes used for other medical purposes, such as stopping involuntary neck spasms or treating overactive bladders. I don’t know much about this—I’m not a medical professional—so I can’t advise on the effectiveness or side effects. I’m not promoting these uses, but I’m saying there are some other applications of Botox. You’d have to do more research into whether using Botox in this way brings glory to God. Stopping involuntary neck spasms or an overactive bladder is not to convince people we’re younger than we are, so it could potentially be a way of stewarding our bodies well. But getting Botox injected into the face? No, that’s not a way of bringing glory to God; that’s a way of bringing glory to ourselves.

Then the questioner also asked about makeup: Does wearing makeup bring glory to God? Can it? I would say that wearing makeup can bring glory to God by presenting ourselves well. Those of you watching on YouTube will see that I’m currently wearing makeup—not an exorbitant amount, but I am wearing some eyeshadow, mascara, and lip gloss. Why am I wearing these things? Because I’m in my home studio right now, with really bright lights shining on me. If I didn’t wear any makeup, I would look very washed out. Those of you who know me personally know that many days I don’t wear any makeup, but when I’m recording, I do, so I don’t look washed out and distract people watching on YouTube. So I think that presenting ourselves well and using some makeup to love others in our interactions can be done to God’s glory. However, if we’re wearing makeup solely to hide the effects of aging or because we don’t feel comfortable in our own skin, then that’s not done to God’s glory—that’s trying to hide who we are. Or if we spend way too much time or money on it—if we spend hours watching YouTube tutorials on makeup application and hundreds or thousands of dollars on makeup each year—that’s not bringing glory to God; that’s just trying to bring glory to ourselves. If anyone watching or listening thinks, "Oh gosh, Elizabeth, I don’t feel comfortable going outside without makeup," I would encourage you to pray through that and think it through.

One thing I did about a decade ago was to realize that I wasn’t comfortable going out in public without makeup. I never wore a ton of makeup to try to hide anything, but the amount I’m wearing now was what I would wear pretty much every day. I realized that if there was a day when I couldn’t find my mascara or I ran out of eyeshadow, I just wouldn’t feel comfortable going out in public. I thought, "This needs to change; I need to be comfortable in the skin God has given me." So, I knew I couldn’t go cold turkey; that would be too much for me. So, every six months, I took one item out of my makeup routine. First, I stopped wearing blush, then six months later, I stopped wearing eyeshadow. I would still enjoy wearing makeup for special occasions, but I wanted to get comfortable being around others without it. By January 2020, I finally reached the point where I took the last item out of my makeup routine and started regularly wearing no makeup.

All that to say, wearing makeup can be done to God’s glory if we’re just trying to present ourselves well. But if we’re trying to hide the effects of aging, aren’t comfortable in our own skin, or spend exorbitant amounts of money on it, then that’s bringing glory to ourselves rather than to God.

Something else to remember in this process is that our culture often pushes against aging. We need to remember that the Bible actually honors elderly people. Our culture tries to run from any form of aging—the ideal person in our culture is someone who is forever young. There’s even a store named "Forever 21." People just want to stay young forever, but the Bible says in Proverbs 16:31, "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life." If someone lives long enough to have a head full of gray hair, it means they haven’t done so much harm to their body that they died young, and that’s a blessing. Leviticus 19:32 in God’s Mosaic Law says, "You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord." The Bible calls us to honor those who are old.

This desire to hide the effects of aging shows us that we ultimately aren’t at home here on this earth. When we are resurrected and live in the new heaven and the new earth, we will have perfected bodies. That’s something to remind ourselves of. As I look in the mirror and see more wrinkles or gray hairs, or as my body gets more tired each year, I remind myself, "You know what? I’m not comfortable with this, but this is a reminder that this world is not my home." For the next 40 years or so, if I live to be 80, my body will continue to deteriorate. But for the next millions and millions of years that I am alive in the new heaven and the new earth with Jesus, my body will be perfected, and my sin nature will be gone. My eyes will be fixed on Jesus, and I won’t worry about how I look. We need to model this process for our kids, helping them understand what Scripture says about aging and why we age—it’s because it’s an effect of sin. In the new heaven and the new earth, there won’t be any aging because that’s not part of God’s good design for us for eternity.

We also need to foster respect for the elderly among our children because our culture often tosses the elderly aside. This is something my mom did so well when we were growing up. Several elderly people in our church eventually ended up in nursing homes, and once a week, we would go and visit them. It taught us as kids to respect the elderly and recognize their value.

As we age, we need to present it to our kids as an effect of living in a fallen world. We shouldn’t just complain, "Oh my goodness, I have another wrinkle," or "Oh my goodness, look at this gray hair." Instead, we can say, "Wow, my skin’s a little more wrinkly than it was two years ago. I don’t really like this, but this is a good reminder that as I get older, my body is going to break down. Just like the flower of the grass, I’m going to wither, and my beauty is going to fade and fall away. But in the new heaven and the new earth, I will have a perfect, resurrected body." Ultimately, we want to point our children toward their one and only true hope—the hope of resurrection in Jesus Christ.

Well, that’s a wrap for this episode. But as always, my prayer for you as we leave our time together is that no matter the situation in which you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves, you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of His Son. I’ll see you next time.