Taking Care of Yourself vs. Vanity

[SnowAngels]

Hi guys!

I’ve been having some trouble on how one discerns between taking care of themselves and presenting themselves well and vanity? Thank you for your answers!

Happy First Sunday of Advent! God bless!

 

[mh2007]

We were taught that cleanliness is next to Godliness. Moreover, in parochial school we were required to wear clean uniforms. Boys had to wear dark slacks, dress shoes (no boots or tennis shoes), and button down dress shirts with collars, and ties. No wide belts. Girls had to wear uniform skirts and dress blouses, saddle shoes and knee socks.

The point to all of this was to be ‘presentable’ in school.

I wouldn’t characterize any of these requirements as vanity. I think it is extremely important to present a well groomed image to the world. Not a slovenly, disorganized appearance. In other words, don’t be a slob. You won’t be respected, and it shows a lack of self respect to appear disheveled. Especially in church, or at school.

I can remember a lot of the girls didn’t want to wear uniforms because they felt limited in their wardrobe repertoire. On the contrary, beautiful girls could make anything look fantastic. I guess the girls would say the same about guys in their uniforms as well.

Vanity was kept at bay with the uniform requirements. There’s a time for dressing more formal, of course, but everyday wear is the order of the day. Business casual, so to speak.

 

[Isca]

Weight control is I think a good example of this. We all know it’s unhealthy to be fat - it also generally isn’t a good look, from an aesthetic point of view. So to me, making sure we keep trim is sensible and constitutes taking care of yourself, and it often has the added benefit of giving a person more confidence.

However, if a person is a healthy weight and still persists in dieting further, to make themselves model-sized slim - that could be vanity!

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Trying to look good is not bad. Excessive makeup, overly expensive clothes can cross the line into vanity.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

When you take care of yourself, you present to the world the fruits of your efforts to care for the body God gave you. If you make those efforts to please yourself or other people more than God (or, Heaven forbid, instead of God), then in my opinion you have crossed the line into vanity.

This doesn’t mean we can’t please ourselves or others in addition to God, but God has to be our first consideration in this, as in all things.

 

[Mystical_Seeker]

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 speaks about this issue:

The words of David’s son, Qoheleth, king in Jerusalem:

  Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
     vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!

 

[Nelka]

Cosmetic surgery (not talking about repairs) is vanity.

Vanity is something I will never fall into as I am somewhat towards the other end.

 

[runningdude]

Hi guys!

I’ve been having some trouble on how one discerns between taking care of themselves and presenting themselves well and vanity? Thank you for your answers!

Happy First Sunday of Advent! God bless!

Jesus positively commands us to be well groom and kempt in appearance:
Matthew 6:

Teaching about Fasting. 16“When you fast,* do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.

The advice is to groom yourself as normal when fasting, to conceal the nature of your prayer. This requires being well groomed at all times!

 

[thistle]

Hi guys!

I’ve been having some trouble on how one discerns between taking care of themselves and presenting themselves well and vanity? Thank you for your answers!

Happy First Sunday of Advent! God bless!

Modern Catholic Dictionary:

VANITY. Or vainglory, an inordinate desire to manifest one’s own excellence. It differs from pride, which is the uncontrolled desire for self-esteem, in that vanity primarily seeks to show others what a person has or has achieved. A vain person looks for praise from others and may go to great lengths to obtain it. More commonly, vanity is associated with an exaggerated importance attached to multiple details, especially external appearances, which in no way contain the value attributed to them. It is ostentation in fashion, wealth, or power regarded as an occasion of empty pride. Thus where pride, though sinful, may have some foundation in fact for whatever one prides oneself on being or having done, vanity is the idle effort to obtain recognition or respect for what a person does not have a rightful claim to. Vanity is attributed to shams, which lack substance and are deceitful (like human praise); or to things without solidity and permanence (such as physical beauty); or to means that fail in their purpose (such as vaunting one’s own reputation). It is an inflated pride and, as such, is venially sinful.

 

[SnowAngels]

Thank you all for your answers! They were very helpful! God bless you!

 

[Crown_of_Stars]

I always think of vanity as, not so much wearing a lot of makeup and trying to look as reasonably attractive as possible, but literally looking in the mirror at oneself and blowing kisses at their reflection. Small confession: I wear a lot of makeup, not to draw attention but just because I think I look a little nicer with it. I don’t have charcoal around the eyes, but I do like long, thick black eyelashes I’m not much for lipstick, but made-up eyes are just very pretty to me. It’s only vanity if you are looking in the mirror all the time and thinking you’re better than someone else. Which, of course, I don’t do.

 

[CRATUS]

Hi guys!

I’ve been having some trouble on how one discerns between taking care of themselves and presenting themselves well and vanity? Thank you for your answers!

Happy First Sunday of Advent! God bless!

Vanity is when you care too much about your appearance. Checking your makeup throughout the day. It is just an excessive focus on one’s physical beauty or lack thereof.

 

[Sarcelle]

Weight control is I think a good example of this. We all know it’s unhealthy to be fat - it also generally isn’t a good look, from an aesthetic point of view. So to me, making sure we keep trim is sensible and constitutes taking care of yourself, and it often has the added benefit of giving a person more confidence.

However, if a person is a healthy weight and still persists in dieting further, to make themselves model-sized slim - that could be vanity!

Yes.

 

[Sarcelle]

Vanity is when you care too much about your appearance. Checking your makeup throughout the day. It is just an excessive focus on one’s physical beauty or lack thereof.

Talking about people who obsess about beauty or a lack thereof, I once saw a TV show where people where so convinced of their ugliness that they spent hours everyday looking into a mirror and cataloguing every flaw that they saw.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

Talking about people who obsess about beauty or a lack thereof, I once saw a TV show where people where so convinced of their ugliness that they spent hours everyday looking into a mirror and cataloguing every flaw that they saw.

Sounds like body dysmorphic disorder. It would also apply to those who compulsively get cosmetic surgery.

 

[Mystical_Seeker]

Physical Beauty, to me, doesn’t have to be covered up. Being attracted to to others, whether their skills or appearance or message, is part of what gives my life joy and what shows me what I like in various ways. Interesting, pretty, sincere, wise?

But what is physical beauty?

Here are some people who didn’t realize they had it. I just saw this recently and frankly not much gets me to tears but this did it.

A mannequin designer creates custom mannequins for display in formal wear in a store window, after handicap people who have never considered themselves beautiful.

Touching YouTube video: Who is Perfect?