Pretty Hurts

Beyoncé has recently performed a master piece, a song that captures and reflects the empty heart cry of our culture... Pretty Hurts.

"Pretty hurts, we shine the light on whatever's worst
Perfection is a disease of a nation, pretty hurts, pretty hurts.
Pretty hurts, we shine the light on whatever's worst,
We try to fix something but you cant fix what you cant see
Its the soul that needs the surgery"

The song speaks of the constant push for perfection, chasing after beauty and affection but never succeeding, about being unsatisfied, always feeling like you're not enough.

If I lose a bit of weight, then I will feel confident...
Once I get some new clothes, then I will be beautiful...
When I get fit then I feel strong...
When I act happy then people will accept me...

You are chasing this feeling of being beautiful, of being strong and accepted, that feeling that is always just out of reach, but close enough to keep the chase going. You see it in other people, they look happy and confident, so if you can be more like them, you'll be able to feel like they do. Decide what you think the world wants to see, shut everything else up inside and just show them the pretty parts...
Friend, I want to tell you a secret. This pursuit you've embarked on has no end, it's a round track you're running on. You will chase skinny and beautiful and accepted forever, but they can't be caught.

The knowledge that you are loved and beautiful is a sacred truth, reserved for those who throw down the baton and quit the race, those who stop pleading the world to give them something the world doesn't even have to offer you, even if she wanted to.

Instead, there is a God who has made you exactly as He wanted you, and he has called you good. He has said you are beautiful, that you are worth everything to Him.
You don't need to change. You don't need to strive anymore.
I believe in a God who loves me as I am and this knowledge, when it reaches deep into my heart, gives me the freedom to stand tall, to make mistakes, to smile and mean it.

And now I can stand on the side lines of that never ending racetrack and call out to those weary and empty runners, telling them I found what they're chasing, that it's right here and they don't need to  run anymore.