The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Should Christians Use Make-up?

Episode Date: July 16, 2021

There are two types of makeup: the kind we wear on our face and the kind we wear in our speech. Today, Jeff expresses the importance of avoiding false forms of speaking, especially as Christians. Snippet from the Show “Let your yes be yes and your no be no, that you may not fall under condemnation.” - James 5:12 Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

You're listening to the Jeff Kavana's show, episode 228. Should Christians use makeup? Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Cavan show. Hey, thanks for joining me again today as we talk about everything related to to Bible, discipleship, and living our life for Christ in whatever calling we find ourselves in, whether we're married or we are called to the priesthood or religious life. We have so many decisions to make as to how we're going to live our lives. And we are called as Christians to be disciples and to proclaim the good news,

better known as the corigma, the proclamation of the gospel, to everybody we know. meet in some way, in one way or another. And whether we say something or whether it is the way that we live or the way we come across to people, it all has to do with our witness. And the one thing we don't want to do is to be a false witness for Jesus Christ. And you're wondering, what does this have to do with makeup? Well, we'll get into that. By the way, if you do want the show notes, I have plenty of show notes today. I have a plethora of scripture for you, and I will put those in the show notes. And if you want those notes, all you have to do is text my name, Jeff Kaven's one word, and text it to the number 3377. I'll get those to you,

and you can tuck them away after you read them a couple of times, and you'll always have a source to go back with. Truth be known, if you had all the show notes for my 225 plus shows, you'd have quite a little library there in your three-ring binder that you could go back to and look up scriptures on different topics and things like that. Well, I am coming to you deep in the woods once again in Minnesota and giving you a big announcement, and that is that this coming January, I will be going to Israel on two types of trips. One is a regular one, and the other is a second timers trip. You can find out all of that on my website, jeffcavens.com.

And we are getting to the point where we got to hear from you. If you want to go next June to the Holy Land with Father Mike Schmitz and myself next year, now's the time to sign up, go to my website, get all the information. Sarah and Andrew Swafford are going to be joining us. And Allie Aaliyah, Taylor Tripodi with music, it's going to be fantastic. So get on board. Okay, so we're talking about should Christians use makeup? Now, let me start off by saying that is up to you.

That is really a personal choice. I want to give you a scripture here, and then we'll get into the heart of what I really want to talk about. First Peter 3.3 says, let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing. but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. It's interesting that Peter talks about the beauty of a woman, and this is in the context of a woman, and he does have some things to say, and it's basically reduced to don't let your beauty be just something on the outside of what you wear,

and the braided hair and everything. Peter never says, don't braid your hair. He doesn't say you can't wear gold or nice clothing or anything like that. But he's bringing home a deeper point, and that is that the hidden person of the heart is where the real beauty is, the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit. That's really what beauty is about. And that really goes for men and women. Whether you want to wear makeup or not, that's up to you, but know that true beauty is in the heart, not just the outward appearance. Don't be on the outside who you are not on the inside. And that's what I have to say about the makeup that you put on your face. But there's another kind of makeup. When you say on the outside something that is not true, it's a blatant lie.

exaggeration, complicit agreement to someone's harm, that's the kind of makeup I'd like to emphasize today. Maybe sometime in the future we'll do a whole show brought to you by Mabelene, but today I want to talk about we're not people who make up things. We are people who are conscious of what we say, responsible with our words, and realize that our words do have consequences. Now, you know, one of the problems with making stuff up and exaggerating every time we open our mouth is that we, after saying it many times, we start believing it. I remember, this is a true story, confession time. I remember growing up here in Minnesota, and I don't know, to be honest with you, I don't know how I got into this jag. But I started to

tell my friends that I was related to Betsy Ross, the woman who sewed the original American flag. I did. I guess it was one of my friends kept telling me that they were related to someone really famous, you know. Now, my wife is related to a direct relative of one of the men who came over on the Mayflower. Yay. But I was responding to my friends back in the 70.

by telling them, oh, yeah, that's true. You're related to so-and-so. Well, I'm related to Betsy Ross. And you know what's funny about that? Is that I started to believe it. And it started to become part of my narrative, my family, my history, my background. And it wasn't even true. And I made it up.

And I wonder how much, you know, if you think about your life and how, you know, what you said about your life or your life or your, accomplishments or, you know, embellishing on situations, how much of it was actually made up. Now, I think there's humor. You know, we can use humor and make something up, and it's obvious that it's a joke, but what does it mean when people can't trust what we say because we make up or exaggerate or embellish on everything that we do? I was a goaltender in hockey in high school.

And I have a number of ways I could tell you about that. One is I could say that I was the first goalie in the history of Chaska High School in Chaska, Minnesota to ever have a win in hockey, became the starting goalie. And I played games with all of my heart and I was fast with my hands and my feet and so forth. or I could tell you the truth and that was I was a goalie and I did get the first win against a school that could hardly put a team together and the truth of the matter is I was very unexceptional I was very average or maybe even a dial it down a couple from there It wasn't anything worth talking about when it came to being a gold tender, but I could embellish on that to get you to think, well, whoa, he was a hockey, he was a great hockey gold tender. He got the first win in Chaska's history.

Well, it's how we talk, isn't it? Do we make up things? Do we not make up things? The Bible has a lot to say about this when it talks about the seriousness of the tongue and our speech. And I'm going to give you these scriptures, so I'm not going to go. through the address of them, but I'll put them in the show notes for you. We are warned about our tongue when Proverbs says, life and death are in the power of the tongue. If you tell the truth, it has consequences, good or bad. If we make up things, it can have very bad consequences,

not only for your life, but for the life of others. Matthew writes, he says, we will give an account for what we say. And I really believe that that is true. If we're going to walk around and make up things, then we're going to give an account for it someday. There's something beautiful and something peaceful about telling the truth. You don't have to make things up. You can live a simpler life by telling the truth, because all you have to keep track of now is the truth. You don't have to keep track of what did I say to them and what I say to that other group what I say to John what I say to Gary what I say to Matt no I tell the truth and Proverbs also says that he who keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble and I think that when we when we use makeup in our speech

we can get ourselves into trouble we really can and and we can say things that that tear down other people in such a destructive way. You know, Proverbs says that slander puts you in the full category. It puts you in the full category when you slander. And slander is oftentimes accompanied by makeup. We made something up. And it puts you in the full category. Scripture says that a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. You are vulnerable. And when you, when you put this kind of makeup on, you are a vulnerable person. Proverbs says, don't tear down neighbors. And then I love this one in Proverbs where it says there are six things that the Lord hates. And you can put this in the category of makeup.

Six things. These are the six things that the Lord hates. Seven, that are an abomination to him. haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Now, there's two things there in Proverbs 6 that I just read you that could be put in the category of makeup. One is a lying tongue. The Lord hates that. He hates it. He hates it. That's a powerful thing to say, isn't it? When you say, God hates something. He hates a lying tongue. And he hates when someone sows discord among brothers. Many times make up accompanies discord. And we should not live that way. And that's one way

that the family can get split up. Certainly your nuclear family, but the larger family, that you are a part of, you start making up stuff, and it will sow discord among your family. Two of the things, listen to this, two of the things that I think are, well, you know what, I'm going to talk about this after the break. There's two things that are very, very destructive if you put this kind of makeup on. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. What if you could see that the infinite God is present in your life? What if it was as simple as stopping, opening your heart, and allowing yourself to be found?

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Order your copy of Whisper, Finding God in the Every Day at ascensionpress.com. Okay, we're talking about, should Christians use makeup? The first kind of makeup, that's your business, but the beauty is in the hidden person. That's a thing to remember. The second kind of makeup that we're talking about are the things that we make up, where we cast a vision of our life and who we are and our background and what we are capable of doing. And we make up things about ourselves, but so often we make up things about other people. And that's not the way that the Christian lives.

let your yes be yes and let your no be no and anything beyond that is sin what jesus said right let your yes be yes let your no be no so there's two things that are are really really nasty when it comes to makeup have you ever have you ever met someone that had makeup on to where you looked at them and thought what in the world is that now I have. But when it comes to the kind of makeup, I'm talking about today with our speech, I've run into some people who I thought, what in the world is that that they are saying? One of the categories is called, and it's in the catechism, it's called Columnie, C-A-L-U-M-N-Y, Columnie. And it's in paragraph 2477. This deals with the tearing down of another person's

reputation. You make up things about somebody else, and it results in someone else's reputation being destroyed. Someone once said, and I think it's a powerful statement, that you can spend 25 years building your reputation and have it torn down in one hour. In one hour, the reputation is gone. And so often, someone's reputation is tarnished because somebody made something up about them. I've actually seen this on social media, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Oh, yeah, I've seen it. You're thinking to yourself, no.

No way, Jeff. No, what's on the Internet is the truth. Seriously? I've seen this. reputations have been destroyed because somebody put on the wrong kind of makeup. It says in paragraph 2477 of Columnie, speaking of it, who by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them. Isn't that horrible?

That's horrible. We don't use that kind of makeup as Christians. we're different. We pursue holiness. We pursue truth. We pursue justice. And the reputation of somebody is very sacred and it will be passed on to the next generation unless you make up something about them. Now that's calumny. The other one the catechism talks about is detraction. same paragraph 2477 detraction of detraction who without objectively valid reason get this someone makes a comment they say something who without objectively valid reason discloses another's fault and failings to persons who did not know them they oh this is this is of the enemy i'll just say

I'll just be honest with, this is of Satan. This is not of God. When people, without valid reason, they disclose another person's personal faults or failings or sin to someone who didn't know about it. That's called detraction. That's making up something that is so destructive. You say, but it was true. Hmm, detraction is sin. here. And usually it's embellished. So you have calumny and you have detraction. And here is what the catechism says about both of them in paragraph 2479. So if you just get a hold of 2477 to 2479, which I'll put in the show notes for you, listen to this. Detraction and columny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor. Honor is the social witness given to human dignity

and everyone who enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect, thus detraction and calumny, offend against the virtues of justice and charity. You see what makeup does? Makeup perverts justice. It perverts justice. Makeup perverts charity. We're no longer walking in justice or charity, but we're walking in, Columny and detraction. My friend, if you've got that kind of makeup on your hands,

might or your face. I might suggest that you wash your hands and your face and be done with calumny, be done with detraction, be done with exaggeration and embellishing, and opening up other people's lives or saying something that is contrary to the truth and harms the reputation. Why? Because honor is the social witness given to human dignity and everyone, you, me, and everybody else that you know, they should have the right to enjoy the honor of their name and their reputation and the respect. And makeup will destroy that. Very, very powerful. Very powerful. I would, I would draw your attention to some of the, the more positive things that we should be saying. And I'll put these in the show notes for you.

It's a list, and I'm not going to go through it all, but I'll give them to you. And, And none of these are made up, by the way. Scripture says in Ephesians 4, let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying as it fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. I like that. It reminds me of a proverb that says,

as apples of gold in a setting of silver, so are the right words in the right circumstance. So having the right words is one thing, knowing when to say them and what's the context. That's another. That's called wisdom. Another thing, Proverbs says, is there is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. We don't make up stuff. We bring healing with what we say. The wise tongue speaks justice as well, and justice is when the person you are talking about gets what is coming to them in a good way. You're not the judge and the arbiter. You're not the one who has to bring judgment on somebody. Psalm 73 says that we speak justice in a good way. Paul wrote to the Colossians and said, let your speech be seasoned with salt and graciousness.

Not calumny and detraction, not exaggeration and embellishment, not sneaky gossip, but it should be seasoned with salt and it should be gracious. Salt preserves, right? And if you are in the company of troublemakers, Psalms 39 says, put a muzzle on yourself. You know what that says. If next time you're in a group of troublemakers, I don't need to define that for you. You know when you're in the company of troublemakers. What's your response?

Put a muzzle on it. Put a lid on it in Greek. And then I like what Job said. He said, my tongue will not utter falsehood. He won't utter falsehood, and he was in a mess, wasn't he? Job was in so much suffering and everything was being taken away. And his friends tried to get him to, you know, come clean, just curse God and die. He says, my tongue will not make up anything.

Don't make up anything. Don't wear makeup when it comes to your life. Now, if we're going to go forward and we are going to speak correct, and not make up things, then you've got to have a plan. And you have to have a plan. And you need to ponder, as it says in proverbs. Everything I'm telling you right here, I got a scripture for, but I don't want to keep going back and forth saying this verse, that verse. I'm just going to tell you what the Bible says here. And I'm going to give you all the scriptures and the show notes. Absolutely free. And I'm not making that up. So ponder how you're going to answer. Think about how you're

going to answer somebody if someone asks you a question. Answer with justice and graciousness, but don't make up anything. As James says, be slow to speak, slow to anger, and he says that the anger doesn't accomplish the righteousness of God. And making up things doesn't accomplish the righteousness of God. You might say, well, that guy gets what's coming to him. Well, that's God's business, right? We're not weed whackers. We don't run around doing that. If they are guilty of something, let God judge. But anger in your making up of things doesn't accomplish the righteousness of God. Stop, think, are you supposed to correct something, or are you supposed to let it go? And I love this one, and if I could go back and talk to my 18-year-old self, this is one that I would say,

18-year-old Jeff, get a clue on this one. Psalms 141, set a guard over your mouth, oh Lord, over my mouth, oh Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips. You know what the best way to not put bad makeup on is to have a guard over your mouth and keep watch over the door of your lips? Put a lock on it if you need to. And remember that a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word always will stir up anger. And I'll say this, that making up stuff about people or making even stuff up about yourself

and then it leaks out that it was made up, that can stir up anger. And a good rule to follow is that when you're in a conversation with people, don't say a lot, say enough. Say enough. Have you ever been around someone who just, doesn't stop talking? You've got to wonder in the midst of many, many words, is there any makeup there? Is there any makeup to make them look a little bit better than they are or their situation better than it is? I would submit to you that Facebook and social media is filled

with makeup. I'm not talking about just the physical makeup, although that, you know, you can make a case for that, I guess. But it is filled with makeup in terms of exaggerating and embellishing, columnian detraction on the web. It could be a dangerous place to live, right? Exodus 14, the Lord will speak for you if you would be silent. Sometimes, you know, you don't need to say anything. And when you do speak, speak, as it says in Proverbs 17, have a cool spirit. It says, he who has a cool spirit. They're the wise one. And And so this week, think about that. You can, you too can have a cool spirit.

So let's conclude this. I want to, I got just a few more things I want to say that are critically important here. And that is that if you're going to be a disciple of the Lord and you're going to walk in, quote, unquote, true religion, well, James tells you what that's all about when he says in James 126, if you can't control your tongue. In other words, you're putting on makeup all the time in your speech, then your religion is worthless. I didn't say that. That's what James said. If you can't control your tongue, your religion is worthless.

So are you worth something or are you worthless? I guess that's something we all have to kind of go into a time of prayer and judge for ourselves. And then Peter said, do you want to see good days and have a good life? I'll let you answer that. Do you want to? Well, I know you do, and I do too. I want to see good days and I want to have a good life. Who doesn't want good days and a good life?

Well, he gives you the secret there. He says, don't make up things. He says, control your tongue. Control your tongue. Well, Jeff, I get so excited. I know that I make up things, but I'm just so excited and, well, you want to see good days and have a good life? Go with what Peter said.

Control your tongue. And then your speech can build up, it can correct, it can comfort and encourage, give God control of your life. And I'll leave you with this, which I think is kind of a funny other end of the story. You can have a beautiful, beautiful speech, not makeup, but beautiful speech. But there's something else that can become beautiful in your life. And you know what it is? Your feet. Yeah, your feet. Isaiah 52.7 says, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns.

So you can have beautiful speech, and I just threw that in in the end there. This is a bone. you can have beautiful feet as well, as long as you are one who publishes good news and peace and news of happiness, you've got beautiful feet. So I conclude by just encourage you today. Makeup, that's up to you. But in terms of speech, we don't use makeup. Please pass this on to all your friends. Let them know that Christians can use makeup, but there's certain kinds of makeup. We're not allowed to use. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, I lift up my friend to you today and I ask you, O God, to help them to take a proper assessment of who they are and their speech and make the appropriate changes. May we be people who speak good news,

and may we have beautiful feet, O God, for you. We pray this in your name. Amen. Name of the Father and and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Thank you.