Why Beauty Matters

I tend to orient my days around tasks and getting things done.  I relish the feeling that comes with crossing out a line on my “To Do” list.   Accompanied with this sense of completion, I am guided by my practical mindset.  My plans and my purchases are measured by their usefulness and functionality.

And yet, the moments that I hold closely and the spaces I have felt overwhelming awe have always been accompanied by something often deemed as impractical: beauty.  Beauty does not give way towards minimalism.  Beauty does not prioritize functionality.  Beauty does not conform to checklists.

But beauty has the power to dig into our souls.  Beauty invites our deepest worship.  Beauty inspires us.  Beauty reminds us that we are created by a God who exudes beauty.  A God who creates with endless supply.  A God of generous beauty.

The awe and value of beauty on earth dawns in the Garden of Eden. The idea of living in a garden invokes a sense of tranquility and creativity. Genesis 2:9 describes how God “made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” In other words, God created trees that were beautiful!  They did not simply serve a practical need of providing food for our ancestors; they provided an intangible need to look at and live amongst beauty.

In Exodus, God lays out His design for the Tabernacle.  It is a masterpiece of various art forms that come together to build a “home” for Him among His people.  The Israelites would be a wandering people in desert landscapes for several decades.  But even in the desert, God doesn’t cut any corners. He paints the blandness of the sand with coverings of royal hues and treasured stone.  Each tapestry, beam, and handcrafted relic carry holy significance in their intricate design, not because God is a dictator, but because He is an architect of beauty.

According to the priest’s job description, butcher aprons would make appropriate attire for their regular tasks.  But no, God adorns them with colorful jewels and precious stones.  Exodus 28:2 says their garment and its design is for “beauty and for glory”. 

In the gospels, a generous act of worship disrupts a room of practical-thinking men when a woman interrupts a dinner party where Jesus is likely the honored guest. The woman breaks open a costly jar of ointment and lavishes the fine oil on Jesus. The bystanders, overwhelmed by the fragrance, accuse her of being reckless, wasting a years’ worth of wages. But Jesus defends her: “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (Mark 14:6).

How often are we guilty of dismissing glory for the sake of practicality?  Where do we cut corners for the sake of functionality only to miss out on worship?  What do we hoard for the sake of frugality that prevents us from abundant generosity?

If Beauty mattered in the dawn of creation, if it mattered for a people wandering in the desert, and if mattered in a moment of reckless sacrifice, then it matters here too.  In my desert.  In my wandering.  In my hunger for the Glory of God.