1 Peter 3:3-4; “Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles,
expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead
with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”(NLT
A lot of arguments have really been made regarding this
particular scripture but I will like us to take a look at the scripture
together. May the Holy Spirit teach us and open our eyes to the truth in God’s
word in Jesus name. AMEN
1.
DON’T BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE OUTWARD
BEAUTY OF FANCY HAIRSTYLE, EXPENSIVE JEWEL
OR BEAUTIFUL CLOTHE…
It is revealed in this paragraph that there is an outward
beauty that comes with fancy hairstyle, expensive jewel or beautiful cloth, and
we shouldn’t be concerned with it. To be concerned means to be anxious or worry
etc. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2
Timothy 3:16), and here is an instruction for us that we should not be
concerned with the outward beauty of these. Surprised, huh? Read it up in your
bible, it’s there in black and white. The instruction is not that we should not
wear beautiful clothes or we shouldn’t dress fine, of course, dress fine, but be
modest about it.(1 timothy 2:9-10) Remember, God sees our heart. If we wear
clothes to show off our wealth or to oppress others of low class, or to tempt
the men around us, God knows. The emphasis here is simply “don’t be concerned about…” Don’t pay too much attention to your fancy
hairdo, your earrings, your beautiful attire etc. Here are some questions for
you.
How many
hours do you spend in the front of your mirror dressing to look good?
How many
hours do you spend reading your bible and praying daily?
Which of them
has eternal values, outward beauty or God?
We should be very careful about what takes our time. We
shouldn’t be too conscious of how is my
hair, I have to style it this way, have you seen the latest weavon, my cloth is
the most expensive, I will knock them down today in the church with my shoes,
my earrings are imported, they are made of diamonds bla bla bla. Of course,
you know what I am talking about, don’t you? God demands better things from us
than those distractions. Let us be concerned with better things that will
transform us into that glorious beauty.
2. YOU SHOULD CLOTHE YOURSELVES INSTEAD WITH BEAUTY THAT COMES FROM WITHIN
The beauty that comes from within can be referred to as
inward beauty. Beauty has been classified; first, the outward beauty, and now,
the inner beauty. Can you see that God recognizes inner beauty? God expects us
to clothe ourselves with the beauty that comes from within. This is the best
beauty you can ever have.
3. THE UNFADING BEAUTY OF A GENTLE AND QUIET SPIRIT
A gentle and quiet spirit. These are virtues every woman must
possess. You want to be a triumphant woman, God’s lovely daughter, a great
woman in this generation and generations to come? Then, you have to develop
this beauty ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit.
4. WHICH IS SO PRECIOUS TO GOD
Clothing yourself with the beauty that comes from within and
the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit is so precious to God. Who
will you rather please? God, people or yourself? God I guess! Then, what are
you waiting for? Start living a life of beauty; the kind of beauty God demands
from you. Please take note of this; you
are a bride of Christ and your inner beauty is what attracts Him to you.
Before I round up this article, let’s see what Sis. Sade
Akanni, a woman of God I respect so much said on modesty, a gentle spirit, and a
quiet spirit in her book ‘unfading beauty’. (You can also get
this book and read it. It is a very rich book)
MODESTY
The Lord does not say here that a believer should not wear
fine dresses. His instruction here is for us to concentrate our attention to
weightier issues: the issue of developing a beautiful life with a gentle and
quiet spirit. A Christian is not expected of the Lord to place priority on maintaining
and servicing a beautiful outward appearance at the expense of his or an inner
life. Modesty must be our watch word. This implies that the cost of the dress,
shoes or whatever we put on must be modest. You have to consider the people in
your own environment of service as a Christian and the funds God has provided
for you. Jesus Christ our perfect example, though he was the King of kings, the
Lord of lords and the possessor of heaven and earth was lowly even in His
dressing. His dressing was not quite different from that of his disciples. So
it was difficult for the chief priests to identify Him among His disciples
without a traitor who betrayed Him to them with a sign. In the area of dressing
therefore, condescend to people of low estate. Do not be high minded. Allow the
Lord to tame your taste. A situation in which you spend so much money and time
to service your physical appearance is not spiritual. Let there be a difference
between you and an unbeliever in your dressing. While we cannot say it is a sin
to wear a fine dress, braid and neatly arrange one’s hair or to use jewelries,
the fact remains that they do not give a correct measure of a woman’s beauty.
A GENTLE SPIRIT
A gentle person does not cling to anything even though it is
his right. He is ever willing to let go. He is lowly and not highminded. He is
humble and submissive and does not struggle for anything even if it is his
right. He leaves all things in the hands of God trusting the Lord to defend
him. Gentleness is an attribute of God Himself. It is part of the fruit of the
Holyspirit. A gentle spirit is a great price in God’s sight. If you desire to
make yourself beautiful, press on for this inner jewel. This is what to spend
your money and time to possess.
A QUIET SPIRIT
It is deeper than being silent (that is, not speaking).
Silence is external but quietness is internal, though it may manifest
externally by silence. Someone with a quiet spirit may be speaking externally
but is quiet within, undisturbed and peaceful. However, someone may be silent
externally, but with much noise and turmoil within. Whereas it may be easy to
be silent, a quiet spirit has to be cultivated. It has to be developed. A quiet
woman is peaceful. She is quiet and free from all fears. Though passing through
storms of life, she is calm. When a woman develops quietness of heart and
gentility of spirit, that is a truly beautiful woman. Even if her outward
appearance is simple and seemingly unattractive, her beautiful character will
endear her not only to God but to men. Think about this: what will you gain
fighting and struggling?
God’s definition of beauty is completely different from human
definition of it. No matter how beautiful you look on the outside, God will not
be attracted to you if your inner man(your character) is rotten. A lot of
Christian women today are more concerned about dressing and maintaining a
beautiful appearance. There is nothing wrong with this. However, we must
remember that there is a beauty that lasts and there is a beauty that fades.
We see so much controversy today among God’s people about how
a Christian woman should handle her outward appearance. Worse of all, the
confusion is spreading even to our young men, who are no longer contented to
look like men in appearance. They rather desire to look feminine. This is
indeed a very strange development and a confusion at heart. There are two
extremes of outward appearance that are commonly seen among Christian women.
Some appear very shabby and unattractive in a bid to display holiness. Others
appear in such a sophisticated way, trying to express Christian liberty so much
that it becomes hard to see any difference between them and unbelievers. It has
become difficult nowadays to be able to tell whether a woman is a Christian or
not except she says so. The line of demarcation has become very thin. The
desire for beauty is the secret push behind the rush for new clothes, cars, new
architectural and fashion designs, which many men and women pursue. Beauty is a
great charming phenomenon in the world today. It is what pushes many to look
for money at all cost. Some have so much money tied on golden jewels and pearls
that they have to employ the services of banks to keep them away from thieves.
Others borrow money to buy jewelries, make a fashionable hairstyle or buy that
beautiful dress that appeals to them, in order to fit into a certain social
class. The desire to appear beautiful has become such a great matter that both
the young and the old go for it. It is the same thing that makes men (even
Christians) to rush for girls that look beautiful. Such girls often receive
more proposals for marriage than the “less beautiful” ones. A girl who appears
beautiful today may become ugly tomorrow by reason of growth, childbearing,
sickness or accident. If you make physical beauty your pursuit, you will be
disappointed because it will surely fade away. It is alright if God made you
naturally beautiful. But do not set your mind on it. Do not service it.
Personal desire for beauty must also not be your motive for dressing. You have
been crucified with Christ; you no longer live. It is Christ that lives in you
now, if you have surrendered your life to Him and are born again (Gal 2:20).
Allow Him to decide how to dress your body which He has bought with a price the
way He likes. (1 cor 6:19-20).
CONCLUSION: Praise God! This is an eye opener to
every woman out there. The truth is this; inner beauty is a threat to the
kingdom of darkness and that is why the devil and his agents are fighting so
hard to distract us with outward beauty. He makes us so carried away thus making
us to have little time for the things of God. We’ve got to be sensitive to
this. Do you know that if you pay more attention to anything other than God,
that thing has become your idol? God commanded us not to serve any other God
apart from Him. Are you sure you have not broken that commandment? Don’t you
have more time for your dressing than your creator? It’s up to you to make
adjustments. Break out from that yoke and start giving priorities to Godly
virtues. Take time to develop your inner beauty, Remember! This is what takes
you to heaven. Let your life be transformed into that radiant beauty.
Inner beauty is an
ingredient that makes up a triumphant woman. REMAIN TRIUMPHANT!
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