17 Apr 2012

I Peter 3:3-4

Posted by joncooper

I Peter 3:3: “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

This passage is not saying that braiding one’s hair is evil. What it is saying is that a woman’s beauty should be inward, not outward. What counts is not beautiful hair but a beautiful heart. That is what God prizes – a meek and quiet spirit.

Our culture does not prize meekness; it is equated with being weak and wishy-washy. Society rewards people who force their will on others and who keep pushing until they get their way, no matter who it hurts or how many lives are destroyed. And yet what God wants is for us to have a meek and quiet spirit. That is what we should be striving for. Love “seeketh not its own”, as 1 Corinthians 13 tells us. Jesus said that we should have the heart and attitude of servants, not dictators.

It is a very difficult thing to not seek our own good and to not do our own will. It is quite hard to seek God’s will and to seek the welfare of others – especially at our own expense. But that is precisely what God has called us to do.

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