1 Peter 3:3-5, NET – “v3 Let your beauty not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes – 4 but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. 5 For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands,”
Philippians 2: 12 – “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING.”
Once you accept Jesus, He puts you in a Divine position, & you can rule, reign, & dominate in life, ie: When you invite Jesus in, He Cleans all your inside, & sets you aside for a special purpose. The Trinity Comes to Live in you (so that He Can Lead you from your inside).
If you get your inside right, there will be right outside manifestation. God Cleans your inside before He Comes to Live in you because He can’t Dwell in an unholy place. God Heals us on the inside & it shows up on the outside. – if you let God do a work on your inside it will take care of a lot of stuff on the outside.
Good things like: Joy, love, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control, are deposited in your inside (or in your spirit) by God. All these good things make beautiful than in your flesh, so you have to concentrate on your inner beauty to nurture or develop these good things that have been deposited in you to come out to your flesh where they can benefit you and others.
When the Bible says in Phil; 2,12 (“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…”), this is not the ‘Salvation’ that we receive by Grace, but Paul meant we have to develop or nurture the good things God deposited in us at the new birth so those good things in your inside come outside (work them out) and benefit you & others
We do that by cooperating with the Holy Spirit. Prompt and total obedience: We have to be responsible; ‘…work out your own salvation…’ don’t let people be on your back or put pressure on you before you go to Church because you are to; ‘…work out your own salvation…’
If bodily beauty were the most important necessity for a happy marriage, the happiest marriages would have been that of women who have won Miss World contests. If the class of dresses and ornaments worn were the source of attraction for the best of men, ladies who own the best fashion schools would have had the best of marriages.
It takes a woman of inner beauty and noble character to attract a godly man and raise a beautiful home. In the same vein, if being tall, handsome, or muscular were what made a beautiful family, the world’s strongest and most muscular men would have been the most successful men on earth. Of what use is your handsome or beautiful outward appearance, if your character is worse off?
Apostle Peter’s admonishing to women about the braiding of hair was not meant to make a doctrinal rule that such acts would take a woman to hell. Neither was he condemning women who wear fine clothing. His emphasis was that, instead of a woman concentrating all efforts and resources on adorning herself with external beauty, she should rather work on developing a beautiful character within her.
Some of us are like well-painted houses full of dust and cobwebs. If a woman can spend hours under the hair dryer, doing facial makeup and painting of her nails, yet, does not dedicate time each day to learn how to be a more virtuous wife and mother, she has misplaced her priorities. The most expensive and fragrant perfume cannot quench the smell of a stinking character.
All these are fleshly things, but the Bible tells us in Romans; 7, 18 – There is no good thing in the flesh but there is a lot of good things in the spirit, when we became ‘believers’ the Holy Spirit came to deposit a lot of good stuff in us (in our spirit being) – press on for the good things God Has for you. Concentrate on developing inner beauty.
I want to challenge us all; let us be conscious of how our character is remoulded by life situations, on a daily basis. Concentrate on building an inner character of joy, love, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control. That sweet spirit within you is He who will attract favor, wealth, and blessings upon you. Concentrate on developing inner beauty, for that is precious in God’s sight. Amen.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, please help me to work on my character on daily basis. May I discover with ease and deal with any habit that destroys my inner beauty. Raise me as a good role model to my generation. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
QUESTION FOR MEDITATION
What can I do to better my character and inner beauty?
