Daily Devotions
It's Not the Outside, but the Inside That Matters
It's Not the Outside, But the Inside That Matters
Reading for October 20th: Mark 12-13
Weekly reading for October 18-24: 1 Peter 1-5
Do not let your adorning be external... but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
1 Peter 3:3-4
One of the first decisions we make every day is what to wear. For some of us, that is not much of a problem, we simply reach into the closet and the first thing that comes out is what we put on.
But for some, deciding what to wear each day can be quite an ordeal. Some of us are very conscious of how we look. We want to wear something that will make us good.
A desire to look good and presentable is not necessarily contrary to godliness. The virtuous wife wore clothing made of "fine linen and purple" (Proverbs 31:22). There was nothing at all vain or selfish about this woman. In fact, her desire to look good grew out of a desire to please her husband and to honor God (Proverbs 31:12, 30).
However, it is quite clear that what made the virtuous wife so attractive was her godly character. "Strength and dignity are her clothing... Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised" (Proverbs 31:25, 30).
So while some of us may need to pay a little more attention to our physical appearance, for those of us who tend to obsess over our looks, let us remember that it is who we are on the inside that really matters.
Father God, we want to glorify you in our dress, both outwardly and inwardly.
