So God created mankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him. Male and female, he created them.
-Genesis 1:27
Can you think of a time when you thought less of someone because of their appearance? Perhaps it was their hair style, a birthmark, their weight, or even their ethnicity. The Bible teaches that all people are created in God’s image. Because of this, all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Since humans are made in God’s image, disparaging someone's appearance is really disparaging God. Next time you are tempted to disparage someone else’s appearance, take a minute to remember that everyone is made in God’s image and ask yourself whether you’d really like to criticize God.
Now, has anyone ever disparaged you because of your appearance? How did it make you feel? Did you believe what they said or did? Did it cause you to doubt your self-worth? We can’t control the actions of other people, but we can choose to believe the truth over lies. Next time someone looks down on your appearance, don’t believe the lie. Instead, take comfort in the fact that God created you in his image! Your self-worth is not in the way others judge your appearance, but in the fact that you are God’s special creation.
In one of the lesser well-known lines from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech at the capitol on August 28, 1963 he said, "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." Although Dr. King's dream may have been realized in some isolated instances, we still have work to do right here on the red hills of Georgia.