What are you adorned with?

"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

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This passage really got me thinking.  

What am I adorning myself with? 

Adorn is "to enhance the appearance of especially with beautiful objects" (Webster's Dictionary)

Does that mean we shouldn't get nice things, stylish hair cuts, use make up, wear nice clothes and jewelry?  Honestly, I don't think so.  It says "...don't let your adornment be merely outward..."  - so basically it shouldn't be the only thing we focus on.  Right?

I think the next verse really clarifies things - what we should focus on is that "inner beauty" - the hidden person of the heart (the soul) - the spirit man if you will.  That's where the bulk of our efforts should go.  Developing our spirit man by spending time in the Word, Worship the Lord, Fellowship with other like-minded believers, those kinds of activities.

I guess the question is this - do we spend as much time adorning "the hidden person of our heart" as we do the outer?  That stings a little bit.  How long do you take to get ready in the morning?  Me, it's about 30 minutes, without interruption - Ha!  Do we spend at least that much time with the Father each the morning?  

Don't get me wrong, I like to look nice and wear nice clothes, and I really do believe God would have us to be presentable because that re-presents Him as well.  Not to mention it's a blessing for our husbands... 

BUT the development of that quiet, gentle spirit is much more important to Him.  Gentle here means - lowly, a humility that is considerate, unassuming, gentle, mild, and meek.  And let me just say this too, meekness is NOT weakness, it's power under perfect control.  

Those are the traits I want to develop.  I can't shop for them at the mall, I have to develop them in my quiet time of study and prayer, and even more so in the crucible of life.  That's where true gentleness and humility are developed.  Daily life.  The Crazy.  The Mundane.  The Process...

What do you think about this whole adorning idea?

Have a great rest of your week!!
 ♥Lori

Linked with Courtney at Women Living Well. 
                               Mary Beth @ New Life Steward

This is Day 8 in my 31 Days of Practice Series 

that I joined for the month of October.