The "Life is Beautiful" Mindset

A Toxic Mentality

This is a darker topic than what I usually post and will be one of only a few I add to my channel, but it’s a topic I feel compelled to share. Before getting started, I wanted to give you all a heads-up about the dark nature of the episode and the mention of some potentially triggering issues.

I also need to make clear that this doesn’t apply to most Christians. Christians have a different view of the world, and while although some might say that life is beautiful, they generally don’t do so without taking into account Ephesians 6:12, 1 John 1:5-7, Genesis 3:1-19, Romans 5:12-19, Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23, Genesis 6:5-6, Romans 8:20-22, and Ephesians 2:1-3. This message is more for non-believers and those who are just “living their best lives,” so to speak, those who are into self-love, self-gratification, and self-worth, and those who might not think about the issues facing the rest of the world.

So, now that I’ve gotten the disclaimer out of the way let’s get started.

I want to read two quotes:

Life can be beautiful, like a rose is beautiful, when we know where to look and how to enjoy it, so long as we don't hold the stem the wrong way.

Life is beautiful when we view it through a picturesque lens, forgoing all the things that make it ugly. We’ve done it dozens, possibly hundreds of times: took a stroll through nature, stood on a mountaintop, stopped to smell the flowers, gazed at the endless ocean, gasped at the infinite stars. For a moment, we're breathless; we see life as something extraordinary. We shut out the rest of the world around us; we close our eyes and inhale deeply, and an incredible feeling of peace washes over us. And for a fleeting moment, we feel alive.

But then we slowly, reluctantly, open our eyes, knowing we can't stand there forever. So, we walk away and back into the life that has never made us feel the way we felt in those moments. Because, deep down, no matter what we want to believe, how many encouraging motivational quotes we read, or who in our life somehow makes life seem beautiful, we know that at its core, "beautiful" is not quite the word for it.

I'll never forget a video I saw online one afternoon of a woman walking down a dirt road in Africa. She carried a baby on her hip and had three more children walking alongside her. I couldn't understand her language, but her body language, the fear in her face, and the screaming child clutching her breasts set the tone plainly for what words could not. A group of men wearing unkempt soldier's uniforms and carrying rifles in their hands walked behind and beside her; another, presumably, held the camera and recorded everything as it happened.

I knew I didn't want to continue watching, that to do so would scar me for life, but I did for a short time longer.

Tears streaked through the dust on the mother's face, but even amid her fear, she maintained her dignity and showed these brutal, evil, bloodthirsty men that she was also angry. As she walked, she spoke harshly, and I know in my heart she cursed them. Because she knew she was going to die, and so were her children, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She already knew, likely because such atrocities are everyday life in her country the way morning coffee is in ours, and no amount of begging or crying would change the events as they unfolded.

Before the video went too far and I risked seeing what I didn't want to see, I stopped it and read the comments and description. The woman's husband had died recently, and because he could no longer care for them, the town's men took them down the road and executed them. A mother and four young children.

Now, I realize many things on the internet have been faked, exaggerated, and are misleading. But I know, too, that things like this happen every single day in this world—things a hundred times worse.

Life is not beautiful for these people, and for millions upon millions, it never has been, nor will it ever be. It’s not beautiful for children dying of cancer before they’ve even had a chance to live, refugees fleeing war-torn countries, parents burying their teenage sons and daughters, women being r*ped, mutilated, and tortured, and people starving to death while we sit on piles of uneaten food; homeless living and foraging on the streets, souls trapped in the throes of alcoholism and drug addiction, children who spend their entire childhoods abused by people who are supposed to protect them; children kidnapped and are never seen again. For all its beauty and light, the world is the epitome of darkness—life is darkness.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Romans 8:20-22

In that passage, Paul speaks of creation itself being affected by sin, subjected to frustration and decay, and awaiting restoration. It means that all of God’s creation is suffering.

“Do not mortals have hard service on earth?
Are not their days like those of hired laborers?
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,

Job 7: 1-2

Of course, God’s creation is beautiful. The conception and birth of a child is beautiful. A life in Christ is beautiful. And life is beautiful when we recognize and accept how fragile and precious it is surrounded by so much darkness.

Maybe it’s beautiful for many of us. Perhaps some have a positive mindset and rarely let anything get them down, and that’s wonderful; the world needs more people like them for sure. But are they doing anything to help those whose lives are anything but beautiful? With a heavy heart, do they think about people in need who are suffering unimaginably? Or are they “staying out of it” for whatever reasons? Do they, at the very least, pray for them? Prayer is the most powerful thing one could ever do for the suffering of others, but I say, “at the very least,” because often the first thing others tend to say when confronted with the question of helping others is, “How am I supposed to do anything? I don’t have any money; I can’t help someone on the other side of the world.” But it costs us nothing to pray.

Those who ignore the darkness only serve to feed and invigorate it. Ignoring the darkness causes complacency. And when people are complacent, they don’t make efforts to help those in need; they stay safe in their own bubbles; they don’t feel a sense of urgency for the world’s most pressing issues—complacent people only add to the problems.

The “Life is beautiful” mindset is the gateway drug to complacency.

Some of you might be shaking your head and telling me I’m wrong; you might have your list of reasons why, and that’s OK; I respect your views. But, I’ve realized that no matter how beautiful my life may be, I can’t say that life is beautiful, being aware of all the evil and suffering that plagues it. It’s like someone saying contentedly from their recliner, “Life is peaceful,” as their neighbor's house burns to the ground; they can see the flames from their window but sit there and read their digital news. Or they say, “Life is fair,” as a tornado races through a parking lot and takes out every car but theirs. They pull away, meandering around the debris as they find a good song on the radio, and then head back home to their unburnt house.

Pretending that life is beautiful also gives others unrealistic expectations; it makes them want to be like you, have a family, and have a gorgeous face like you. But behind the scenes, most lives, families, and beauty queens are nothing like what they show the rest of the world. The world doesn’t see the divorce brewing behind closed doors, the abuse, the cheating, or the miscarriage; they don’t realize that your gorgeous face was run through a heavy filter before you posted it online because you hate your skin, your nose, and your thin lips. Pretending that life is beautiful makes it unbearable for those who believe they can have it all like they think others have it. They get frustrated and depressed; they begin to hate themselves because no matter how hard they try, they can’t seem to find the perfect life or body like those they envy have.

Some might argue that I’m missing the point of the phrase, that I’m reading far too much into it, and that it doesn’t mean “all life everywhere” is beautiful. Some might argue that the phrase is just a way of saying that life is a gift from God, and because of that, it’s beautiful—I get that. But I can assure you that I’m not missing the point. I’m looking at the bigger picture, the consequences of something seemingly harmless and the complacency it creates.

And yes, life is a precious gift from God, and it was beautiful. Once, a very long time ago, in the Garden of Eden, but as we do with everything else God gives us, the first humans took advantage and abused that gift, turning it into something it was never meant to be. It was the swing set, swimming pool, or trampoline our parents bought for us one Christmas that is now an eyesore in the yard, neglected, rusted, no longer loved like it once was. Life was meant to be beautiful, yes, but we turned it into something ugly; we turned it into suffering, and today, it’s still ugly, and we’re still suffering, and we will until Jesus returns. And we must stop lying to ourselves and everyone else about the face life wears.

Life is not beautiful for everyone, but for everyone, it is subjective; it is survival. Life is the in-between what once was and what will soon be—it’s just a waiting room. Life is an arena; we’re all here fighting, struggling, hurting, triumphing, making decisions that will mold who we will ultimately become, and every decision we make will be used to judge us in the end. Life is a test, and most of us will fail.

So, am I suggesting people walk around with a negative attitude, saying instead, “Life is terrible”? Of course not. We should rejoice in the life God gave us and be thankful for the time we have left to repent and give our lives to Christ.

But for me, instead of saying, “Life is beautiful,” from now on, perhaps I will say, “I’m thankful to God for my life, but it wasn’t given to me to sit on and admire. I have work to do.”

Now, let me read the two quotes from the beginning again, but this time with the proper emphasis.

---

May God bless you, your family, and your life.

---

The text in this article is copyright © 2023 Jessica Tacu.

The photos used in this article were generated in Midjourney. Might as well use fake images of fake people to represent fake beauty.

Bible verse credits:

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.