I have just recently turned thirty. While that might not be very old to some, I will admit I feel it came on quite fast. With an increase in age, there are new things that now take up my thoughts. I have recognised I have a keen awareness of which night-time moisturizer I “need” to be using to keep my skin firm. Or, I am wondering which under eye serum to buy for the ever-growing bags under my eyes. As I see more and more gray strands of hair make their way through, I have pondered what I will do; let it grow or cover it up? I’m considering which workout plan to start so that I can have healthy routines. I think about what my fashion should be so that I can look my age but not too young or not too old. Thanks to the internet, I am constantly feeling the pressure to get ahead of these things before it is too late, even though I’m only the ripe young age of thirty!
Having a healthy lifestyle and habits while caring for the body God has given you is not a thing to be ashamed of. However, when it is your main pursuit, there is a serious problem.
When I reflect on these verses in 1 Peter 3, I am incredibly challenged by my thought life. I find I am caring much more about how I will better my physical self as I age versus how I will grow my spiritual self.
For the women in Ancient Rome, they were tempted to desire standing out among others through what they wore and how they adorned themselves. Peter is urging them against this.
But isn’t that so much of how we are wired today as well?
It might not be braided hair or gold jewelery for us, but it can easily be the best skin care, hair color, or clothes. We desire these things all for the sake of what others will see. We are not so far off of Ancient Rome.
Peter is urging that our adorning should relate to “the hidden person of the heart.” What is implied here is that the adorning of the heart is not for the sake of outward appearances in a spiritual sense either. We can easily find ourselves like a Pharisee and be consumed with “growing” our heart so that others can see and be impressed.
The adorning in 1 Peter 3 is for our hearts to grow in personal and private ways resulting in a “gentle and quiet spirit.” This is something inward that does impact our outward appearance, but it is not motivated by what is outward.
A gentle and quiet spirit is also not one that is trampled over and has no voice.
Instead, it rests in the Lord and relies on Him to be at work in and through us as we grow in those hidden places that only Christ can impact. A gentle and quiet spirit does not seek to perform and achieve, but it lives out of her God-given identity.
When we are focused on the hidden person of the heart, there will be less pressure and less performance, and more of Christ like character, which brings peace and joy. This will bring so much freedom to the way we live as daughters of God. It not only encourages us individually, but those we encounter too. When He is our greatest treasure and joy, others are spurred on to adorn their hearts by His grace.
The final part of these verses is what strikes me most: “which in God’s sight is very precious.” It is so easy to desire the attention and respect of other people. But Peter is saying that a heart that treasures Christ first and foremost will not only cultivate character but will have character that is precious to God.
What great grace this is that, even in our sin, we have the opportunity to not only be in God’s sight, but are also precious to Him.
This grace should spur us on to a life of adorning our hearts with imperishable beauty. No matter how many serums my thirty-year-old body tries, one day it will fade and perish.
A gentle and quiet spirit is what I desire to long for because that is a beauty that will outlast the ages through the grace and love of Christ.
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Week 3 Challenge:
This week, intentionally use a spiritual gift God has given you to perform a random act of kindness or service, whether it’s a small gesture like sending an encouraging text to someone from church, a friend, or family member or volunteering a few hours to help a ministry.
Week 3 Reading Plan:
Find it in your journal or on the LGG App!
Week 3 Memory Verse:
