“You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.”

Luke 10:41-42

“You didn’t get the dino-shaped ones?” my friend asked incredulously as I pulled a pan of chicken nuggets out of the oven.

“No,” I laughed, “we were going to, but they were all out at the store.” I set the pan on top of the stove and stared eagerly at the steaming food as my stomach rumbled in anticipation. “It doesn’t matter, really. They all taste so good! I could care less about what they look like.”

I hadn’t thought much of the interaction until a few days later when the same friend responded to my Instagram story with an idea for my next post.

“Dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets versus the normal ones, and the dangers of focusing on looks,” it read.

At first, I thought the response was a joke. Then, it became a lighthouse

Recently, I’ve been a little obsessive about the way I look. It started with a new skincare routine that seemed to be failing me only a week into the process. This led to an overcompensation in everything else I did and thought about.

I had to make sure my outfits every morning looked just right. I wanted my makeup to look naturally enhancing in a way that would make people stop, and stare, and think, “How can she be that pretty?” I even tried to tailor the way I walked to attract attention.

As someone studying literature, it’s no surprise that I have a strange obsession with aesthetic beauty. So many of the books I read beckon me to imagine a world in which I am beautiful. Well, not just beautiful. I have found a desire in myself to be aesthetically perfect.

And I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way.

I see women everywhere staring at photos of models they wish they could replicate. I see men tailoring their speech to sound more confident in themselves than they actually are.

We all want to be dinosaur chicken nuggets, but really, all shapes of chicken nuggets taste good.

Something I’ve been learning recently is the danger of focusing on my own beauty.

Proverbs 31:30 says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

This verse focuses on what is substantial in humanity. Beauty is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be used wrongly. Outward beauty can be deceptive, as it is not a direct reflection of the heart. It can also be a good thing, but it doesn’t last.

We are dust.

To dust we will return.

These thoughts are humbling, and to me, they are peaceful. While I’m spending so much time in the mornings painting my face and picking out my outfits, I’m really missing out on what life is, and what it’s meant to be. My outward appearance is a falsity. All the bodies I see are made of dust, and will one day return to it. This signals me to rest from my vain attempts at gaining adoration for my physical attributes and focus instead on my own heart.

As humans, we tend to get distracted with so many things, and how we look can be a big part of that. Sometimes, we need to be brought back to the reality of what we are made of and what really matters. According to Jesus, only one thing is needed, and that is what Mary found sitting at His feet (Luke 10:41-42). It is to be in the presence of the Lord, and let everything else fall away.

When we are so caught up in the illusion of life, we miss out on what true life is meant to be: walking in deep intimacy with the Father.

I challenge you to take a moment and think about all the things you are chasing right now that are distractions from the one thing that is needed. Are you caught up in how others think of you? Are you chasing after compliments and praise with open hands? Are you obsessing over the way your hair falls or the color pattern of your clothes?

Chicken nuggets don’t need to be shaped like dinosaurs to taste good! We are all valuable in the way we were created to be, regardless of how others perceive us.