Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Or, if you are a guy, do you think you are good-looking? I see the supermodels, actresses, actors, and others that the media says we should change ourselves to look like. They say you need larger lips, hips, biceps, triceps, or other parts of your body to improve who you are. Remember the saying, “Beauty is only skin deep.”

I have never believed beauty begins or ends with how you look. The best-looking people I have known were not always physically attractive. They may have had bad hair, an inappropriately sized nose or ears, or another feature they view as a deformity. I believe that Yahweh personally creates each of us as He desires us to be.

Changing hair color, using makeup, or adding tattoos or piercings are minor types of change that I have never tried. When Cindy and I were first married, I adored her naturally curly hair but politely declined when our hairdresser offered to give me a perm to make my straight-as-string hair as curly as hers. If I had curly hair, I might not like it either.

I have said for years that I don’t understand why they call this treatment a permanent. It will grow out in a few months and must be applied again. For this reason, I refer to it as a temp, and that means temporary, not permanent. She does not always appreciate her hair or other attributes as much as I do. I’m fine with my looks, though.

Now you can also have permanent makeup applied. While these tattoos in place of makeup will stay on your skin, they don’t remain looking the same. Everything changes over the years despite what anyone promises you. When I began growing my mustache when I was eighteen, it was very light. Now it is grey.

My facial hair is my act of rebellion. My dad once said that if any of his sons had grown their hair out, or grew a beard or mustache, he would throw us out of the house. It took six months for him to notice I had not shaved my upper lip. When he asked me about it, and I told him how long it had been growing, he said nothing more about it. My wife and children have never seen me without it.

Many folks think that I am a funny fellow; my response is that looks aren’t everything. When I taught in junior high at church, I would greet new students with, “My name is Chuck, and I am good-looking.” When they looked at me weirdly, I would tell them that I liked to point it out because sometimes that was not noticed immediately.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we should accept the way we are and only change things that Jesus tells us to. I was a shy child and seldom spoke before those I did not know, so I studied public speaking for three years in high school. I have become what I thought would be needed in my professional life. And it is a great life; how about yours?

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger