Have you heard of the new “Ugly Meter” iphone app? Users take a picture of someone’s face on their iphone that will then be judged by the “ugly meter” to determine ugliness on a scale of 1 to 10. This troubles me, because it’s just one more thing girls to be ridiculed about and to be tempted to ridicule other girls about.

This app has the potential to lower the self-esteem of teenage girls (and boys alike) in seconds. They’ll laugh with their friends about it on the outside while cringing on the inside. But I believe something even greater is at stake.

I believe things such as this deceive students into believing that ugliness is skin deep. We often address the topic of true beauty in girls’ ministry. We drive home that girls are beautiful because they are created in God’s image. We continually remind them that true beauty comes from unfading character produced by a relationship with Christ. But how many times do we talk about true ugliness? Are we teaching girls that they need to look at their hearts and examine if ugliness is within?

Scripture is clear that our sin is despicable to God and should be to us as well. Are we glossing over that with princess parties or diva décor? Or are we teaching girls that we need a Savior to redeem our ugly hearts and make us beautiful from the inside out?

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;

cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression;

bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:

though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red like crimson,

they shall become like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,

you shall eat the good of the land;

but if you refuse and rebel,

you shall be eaten by the sword;

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

- Isaiah 1:16-20 ESV