Pretty woman

Much of our culture today is centered around beauty. Though this can be taken to an extreme, it’s not all bad. In First Peter 3:3-4, Peter wrote these words about beauty:

“Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God.”

Now notice that this is not a blanket statement against outward beauty. There is nothing wrong with trying to look good. There is nothing wrong with doing your hair or putting on make-up. In fact, how’s the old adage go, “If the barn needs painted…paint it.” This verse is not speaking against beauty. In fact, according to Willard Harley in his best selling book, His Needs Her Needs, one of the needs that every husband has is an attractive spouse. Now at the risk of being labeled a ‘male chauvinist pig’ (that’s okay, I’ve been called worse) let me share with you one of my pet peeves. It’s when a wife gets all decked out to go to the grocery store and shop in front of a bunch of strangers but could care less what she looks like when her husband comes home from work. Listen, who cares how the grocer sees you . . . look good for your husband! Harley says, “When a wife looks good, a husband feels good.” There is nothing wrong with outward beauty.

This passage is teaching us that there is something more important than outward beauty and that of course is inward beauty, or as Peter calls it, “the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit.” Outward beauty is important but it is not near as important as inward beauty, and ladies, inward beauty can only be developed by spending time alone with your Heavenly Father . . . time in His Word and time in prayer. Think about it. How much time do you spend each day on your outward beauty? Be sure to include your usage of the 24 bottles of shampoos, conditioners and whatever else that you have in the shower. Now, how much time do you spend each day on your inward beauty? I’m not advocating spending less time on your outward beauty. I’m simply asking you to re-evaluate how much time you spend on your inward beauty.

You see, there is bad news and good news. The bad news is that when it comes to physical beauty, you will (if you haven’t yet) reach your peak. From there it’s all down hill. After a certain age, you don’t get more physically beautiful, you begin to deteriorate in that area. I can prove it. How many Senior Citizens do you know that have won the Miss America Pageant? But here is the good news. Inward beauty can increase every single day for the rest of your life. That’s right. If you know Jesus you can become more and more beautiful the rest of your days on earth. After all, some of the most beautiful people I know are grandmas (I will introduce a few of those to you in tomorrow’s blog).

Here is another amazing fact about beauty. Peter goes on to say in verse 5 that the way holy women in the past used to make themselves beautiful was by being submissive to their own husband. That’s not “male chauvinism”…that’s the teaching of Scripture.