Not knowing to which church our reader is referring, and there are innumerable churches in the world, we are reformulating the question as: is wearing makeup acceptable in the Bible? There is to our knowledge no prohibition to wearing makeup in the Bible. Song of Solomon 1:10 reads, “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with chains of gold.” Here, the bride’s cheeks are adorned. It is not make-up, but if jewelry adornments were permissible, then so might be a little rouge, etc.
The Bible places a great deal of stress on inner beauty rather than on physical impression. It is written: “[…] man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16: 7). The Apostle Paul states his advice, “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discretely, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness” (1 Timothy 2:9, 10).
Though it is customary for women to desire to be pleasing physically to the opposite sex, they may all learn from the example set by Esther in the Bible. The young virgins chosen to be part of King Ahasuerus’ court were given cosmetics for their beautification, as well as anything they desired to make themselves attractive. When Esther’s turn came to be presented to the king, however, it is said that “she did not request anything [perhaps implying no cosmetics either] except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, advised” (Esther 2:15). The outcome of the presentation was, “The king loved Esther more than all the women…so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen” (Esther 2:17).
In contrast, when Queen Jezebel attempted to save herself from Jehu’s wrath by accentuating her charms: “…she painted herself and adorned her head” (1 Kings 2: 30), it appears Jehu, the man of God, was not at all moved by her artifice and ordered Jezebel to be thrown out the window and killed.
It is a personal choice as long as it is appropriate to the setting, such as a polished look in a business setting, and not distracting or used to show off or draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. But overall, is our appearance to please God or to please ourselves and the world? 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1240: Is It a Sin if I …? (Part I)
Examining whether how we dress and if gambling are sins
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes
