“Your adornment must not be merely external—with interweaving and elaborate knotting of the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or [being superficially preoccupied with] dressing in expensive clothes; but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.”
1 Peter 3:3-4
“You are what you wear,” a quote says. And so, we spend time and money on clothes that would flatter our body shape, reflect our style personality, and make us look and feel our best. Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. However, when we wear clothes to give us a feeling of superiority, to impress people, or to show that we can afford the same stuff as others, what it reveals is our hearts.
It is not the clothes that we wear but who we are inside that makes us stand out. 1 Peter 3:3-4 tells us that it is our inner self with the unfading beauty of a gentle and peaceful spirit that is very precious in the sight of God.The beauty that comes from within has an imperishable quality and unfading charm. It doesn’t change with the season or our body shape. It does not decay, nor does it get worse with age. Now, isn’t that something that we should focus on above how we look?
As we cultivate and put more value on having a gentle and quiet spirit, we free ourselves from using clothes to make us look good and feel valued. The clothes we wear becomes the least of our concern because what is in our hearts will shine beautifully.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, mould and fashion my heart into that which would be pleasing to you. Help me to nurture a gentle and peaceful spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
APPLICATION
Make a decision today to cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit. Remain calm and self-controlled no matter what is happening around you.