Julia Larson

Does God Judge Us For Dolling Up?

I’ve gone through phases of thoughts and attitudes about my own personal experiences of whether to doll up or not. Mostly, I didn’t know if makeup and stuff was superficial. The right people will love me for who I am, I thought. I was a religion major in college, and then a gardener professionally, and I didn’t wear makeup much for all of those years.

Then I became a writer, and there were Sarah Jessica Parker expectations of me all the time. And just like that, I started getting into fashion and makeup and hair and nails. Once I started, I actually started feeling a lot more physically comfortable in my face and body. And I began to wonder, as a former religion major, does God want us to doll up?

Why do we have hair that grows so long from our heads, except to make braids and beach waves?

Why do we get so cold that garments are needed to make us warm and should we make them ornamented?

Why do we have skilled hands and minds to make festooned makeup, intricate updos, and jazzy toe nail art?

Are we the only species that can wear high heels, and should we, if we can at all? Were we made to?

Do we have necks and shoulders for jewelry? Why do we have earlobes, if not for earrings?

Overall, is it narcissistic to enjoy diamonds, sequins, UV light, and glow-in-the-dark products, semi-precious stones, and more?

Why did God make all of these things?

Are all of these things temptations to avoid?

Is it idolatry?

Does it celebrate God’s creation to enjoy things he put on this planet?

Does it depend upon how we enjoy these things? If we thank God for His creation, is that enough? 

Should we, as my family says, tell people, “Wear it in good health”? Or is it all so showy, flashy? Fancy-schmancy?

Can people be peacocks or is it reserved for the animal kingdom? Are peacocks meant to inspire us to imitate them?

Is taking the time to primp distracting from Godly duties like working to create world peace?

Does up to two hours a day of showering, putting on makeup, and doing one’s hair make us relaxed, recharged, energized? Does it make us more productive overall? Or do better work?

Should we all wear the same thing together every day as a society?

I realized at some point that a lot of people who don’t doll up say it’s because they aren’t narcissistic, but by having such a superiority complex for not doing so, they can sometimes be the biggest narcissists of all.

If God were a man on earth, would he wear a feather in his hat?

So, does God want us to doll up?