The hidden beauty of woman

In 1 Peter 3, it is written, “Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of robes, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” 

This has been a topic that the Lord has invited me deeply into in the last few years.

Growing up, like most women, I was surrounded with Disney princesses and Hollywood movies which taught me how to dress, act, and well…be a woman. I was taught through cultural osmosis that women need to be pretty smart to get by in this “man’s world” - there is a larger emphasis on the word “pretty.” From our childhood years, many of us women have been implicitly taught that our worth is in our exterior actions or exterior appearance. 

In contrast to the type of woman that is often sold to media consumers, one movie stands out to me. The 1994 Little Women movie teaches young women an important lesson about their identity.  

I think of the quote from the movie in which the mother says to her daughter, “If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all you really are.”  

1 Peter 3 exemplifies this sentiment perfectly. This passage describes a God-honoring woman as one who radiates her femininity precisely BECAUSE she cultivates the hidden spirit within her, not focusing only on the exterior appearance. 

Is it important to take care of our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit? Yes. 

We must then ask ourselves, what is the spirit that resides within the temple of my mind and how does this spirit affect the way I adorn the temple of my body?  For truly, when God is the spirit ever with us we will be the most beautiful and feminine versions of ourselves, and this is so pleasing in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

“Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of robes, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” 

- 1 Peter 3:2-4