Uncommon Class

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone. ~Audrey Hepburn

Beauty is common. Class is rare.

Anyone can be beautiful. In fact, many men and women pay exorbitant amounts of money to professional surgeons and cosmetologists to make them "beautiful."

Don't misunderstand me; there's nothing wrong with beauty.

However, I have encountered many people who are simply stunning on the outside, but are entirely lacking in class. And by the same token, I have met many men and women who are "plain" by the world's standards, but the amount of class and character that radiates from their faces transforms them into some of the most remarkably gorgeous people I have ever seen.

So what makes a classy person? What is it about them that catches our eye?

It is the person who knows the difference between love and lust...

...who guards their tongue and knows the appropriate moments to speak and be silent...

...who marries intelligent conversation with a humble spirit and a willingness to learn...

...who carry themselves with a calm poise, but still are able to break down and weep when the need arises.

These people are rare.

They are the coal-turned-gems who have allowed the difficult situations in their lives to transform them into something beautiful instead of poisoning them from the inside out.

They are the tender-hearted women who practice the lost arts of tact and modesty, both in their words and in their appearance.

They are the men who understand that chivalry is not dead and that respecting the women in their lives will never pass out of fashion...the ones that realize that woman would rather be called "beautiful" than "hot," and that manhood is about quiet strength instead of drunken violence.

They are the youth of society who stand up and rebel against the low expectations set for them by today's society -- who understand that maturity is a treasure, education is essential, and that their bodies are temples.

These are the classy ones.

These are the beautiful people.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ~Col. 3:12-14