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. They submitted themselves to their own husbands,
1 Peter 3: 3-5
There is an emphasis on inner beauty. The passages does not absolutely
forbid any and all external beauty.
The point is one of emphasis. What takes priority over everything? The internal
attitudes of heart. Women must use the Word of God to look inside, where beauty
begins. “These verses do not ban grooming or beauty aids, but they do put these
adornments in proper perspective. If a woman relies only on these kinds of
things to make her beautiful, she will miss the greater value of inner beauty.
The
beauty of a woman is not in the outer appearance. We are forever showered with
products that are supposed to make us more beautiful. Creams and lotions to
either hide or eliminate wrinkles; hairstyles and dyes to color our hair to hide
the 'grey'. Make up that masks our real faces, and jewellery & clothing to
make us more beautiful.
They're
not wrong in themselves, but our attitude behind it should not be in the need
of these things to make us more attractive. If we are concerned with the way we
look, and care more about grooming our outward, it may be that we are unhappy
with who we really are.
God
wants us to be concerned with the inside - the real us. This is where the real
beauty is. Having a pretty face, a perfect figure and all the accessories that
go along with it, means nothing in the light of eternity. It only reflects the
culture we live in, and I think that culture needs to be challenged.
We need
to get passed being overly concerned with our outward appearance, and
concentrate more on what's inside. Allow the Holy Spirit to beautify the
inside. For when we have God's beauty inside, it reflects on the outside - and
then we won't need the creams and make-up to make ourselves beautiful. We will
have the natural beauty of a Godly woman, and that beauty is eternal.
Shared by Carolyn Thomas
No comments:
Post a Comment