I’m ugly. Why was God so unfair to me this way?
(letter)
Why did God make some people ugly and others good looking? It’s not fair. I find myself looking in the mirror and wondering why I have to be so ugly and have such an ugly body when all my friends are pretty and have nice bodies. Why was God unfair to me like this?”
—Erin
Thank you for your honesty, Erin. I know a lot of teenagers feel the same way you do. You are obviously angry at God because you believe that He has cheated you by not giving you a better face and body.
And because you’ve been honest and direct with me, let me be honest with you—God doesn’t deal with us unfairly. He deals with us only in love. If He dealt with fairness we would never be born. Instead, He would judge us for all the sins He know we will commit. The fact you are alive and healthy means God has been gracious with you.
While God loves you, He also has some advice for you about you anger toward Him. Look at God’s word—in Isaiah 45:9,10:
Woe to the man who fights with his Creator. Does the pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with him who forms it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ or the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ Woe to the baby just being born who squalls to his father and mother, ‘Why have you produced me? Can’t you do anything right at all?’ (TLB).
It is true of course, that some people are more attractive than others—when it comes to a body or a face. But our society puts way too much emphasis on the body and not enough on the inside. God doesn’t do that. Remember what God told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7…
Don’t judge by a man’s face or height… I don’t make decisions the way you do! Men judge by outward appearance but I look at a man’s thoughts and intentions (TLB).
If being good-looking is important to God, then Jesus Christ would have been a real hunk, right? But he wasn’t. In Isaiah 53:2, Jesus was described this way:
In our eyes there was no attractiveness at all, nothing to make us want him (TLB).
You see, Erin, Jesus wasn’t good looking, yet He rocked the world because he walked with God.
That’s what you need to concentrate on, Erin—walking with God. He has a plan for you and your body is part of that plan. Maybe He wants you to work somehow with so-called “average-looking people,” helping them develop on the inside where God really looks. And believe me, God is still working on who you are on the inside, Erin. Give him a chance to do what He’s going to do.
Instead of asking your question—“Why am I not more beautiful on the outside?” ask this question: “How can I cooperate with God to help me become more beautiful on the inside?”
If you do that you’ll be OK. I promise
More information
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- Does God feel our pain? Answer
- Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer
Author: Dawson McAllister of Dawson McAllister Live!
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