Inner Beauty

'And now let me speak to the wives. Be devoted to your own husbands, so that even if some of them do not obey the Word of God, your kind conduct may win them over without you saying a thing. For when they observe your pure, godly life before God, it will impact them deeply. Let your true beauty come from your inner personality, not a focus on the external. For lasting beauty comes from a gentle and peaceful spirit, which is precious in God’s sight and is much more important than the outward adornment of elaborate hair, jewelry, and fine clothes.' 1 Peter 3:1-4 (TPT)

Wives, are we to find value in the visual? God loves beauty. We do too, but know that it will soon fade. The face we have now will not be the face we will have then. We should strive to be both beautiful on the outside and on the inside. We miss it when we think that clothes and hair make the person. We may look nice, but the unbelieving spouse will know our depth as soon as we open our mouths, Heaven help us if when our lack of wisdom is coupled with our vulgar speech. No amount of expensive perfume will hide the stench of bad behavior. What a way to show the most important person in our lives that our personality is lacking in virtue. Living a life of virtue is exciting, thrilling, exhilarating and fun with a little bit of the unknown thrown in for adventure as well. If we are able to, how wonderful it is to grow old together with the person that you love. If we are married to a non-believer we may win them over and we can make God real to them by simply obeying His Word.

God values purity and a gentle and peaceful spirit, and He looks at the heart. The heart speaks volumes through our good deeds and acts of kindness when we let it. Speak to them, not with words, but let them see us through our heart and our good deeds and show them that we love them. No amount of sweet nothings will ever cover up a hurtful lie. Don't be unequally yoked and marry a man thinking you could ever change him. He is a man of reason and he demands your respect and will not be changed by your rhetoric. You could both be facing decades of pain. No amount of feminine drama will ever be enough to entertain a broken heart. Never set a trap for him by placing too much emphasis on the physical, you may end up with something that you never bargained for. No amount of jewels and bling will attract the thing that is most attractive. Set the trap with love and trap them with a kind heart and a gentle spirit.

For me, I am so grateful to live in a country where I am free to express myself through the styles of clothing I wear and with how I fix my hair. I pray for my sisters that are bound by the traditions of ungodly men lacking in morals and self-control, and are forced to hide their beauty. Though I often get this inner beauty teaching wrong, I still strive every day, with God's grace, to be a better wife to my husband then the person I was the day before.