Thursday, March 3, 2022

Nice Gloves, Really?

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel -
rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."
1 Peter 3:3-4 (NKJV)

Recently, as I was getting ready to go somewhere, I put on some gloves, because it was cold outside.  The pair of gloves I put on are very nice, and even though they are old, the gloves still look good.  So, with my choice of gloves, I went outside, and then I remembered why I don't use those nice, old gloves any more.  The lining of the gloves is worn out, and while the gloves may look nice, they don't have any lining inside and so they are not very useful in cold weather.

Most people want to look good, and that is fine, but if we only spend time making sure we "look good" on the outside, we are missing the most important thing; the way things are like on the inside.  In the same way that Peter wrote to wives, telling them not to be overly focused on dressing up on the outside, but rather focus on building themselves up on the inside, we too need to be sure we are developing the "hidden person of the heart", which is referring to the human spirit.

Some people think that Peter was against jewelry, or women wearing makeup and putting on expensive clothes, but that was not the point.  If all we have is a nice outer appearance, but inwardly we have bad attitudes, or we are spiritually and emotionally immature, then all of the work we have done on the outside really does not matter.  Yes, we certainly should look presentable, but we shouldn't neglect working on being the right person on the inside, because that is what really matters.

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