1 peter 3:3-5
your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. for this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.
"your beauty should not come from outward adornment"
now this verse is not saying that we shouldn't be beautiful. It isn't saying that it's wrong to pay attention to our physical appearance. as women we should reflect the beauty, order, excellence and grace of God. not only in our inner person, but our outward appearance as well. but we need to keep things in perspective and remember that this aspect of our lives is fleeting. it's momentary. it can lure but it can't last.
"rather it should be that of your inner self"
in 2 corinthians 4:8 paul says "so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." our relationship with God has got to be the number one focus and priority in our lives if we're going to be the women that God made us to be. so let your adorning, or the thing that you consider attractive and beautiful, be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. so what should be the attitude and spirit of this inner self?
"the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
woah woah woah... gentle and quiet? that may sound impossible for some of us. but it doesn't mean that we have to change our whole personality. this "gentle and quiet spirit" is talking about an attitude we have in us. a gentle spirit. that word in the original language is meek. the scripture says that for a woman to have that internal heart attitude of meekness or gentleness and a quiet spirit gives her a beauty that is imperishable. so how do we get this spirit of meekness? God wants to produce in us the fruit of his spirit. one of those fruits is gentleness. this gentle and quiet spirit can only come from God. that is why we need to draw upon his sufficiency. he's the giver of fruitfulness. the fruit he wants to produce in us is the fruit of Christ living in us and being expressed through us, the fruit of the character of Christ being formed in us, the fruit of our being a blessing to others because of the life of Christ in us.
"for this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves."
so how did these holy women make themselves beautiful? they trusted in God; and as a result they developed an inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. to become this woman of virtue that God wants us to be we must develop a sense of fear in the Lord. that reverence for him. that awe for him. that trust in him. that love for him and hatred for evil. and we can't develop this apart from spending time with God in his word. and then everything about your life will be ordered around that consciousness of God's presence.
this is the site i read and got all this good information from if you want to check it out:
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