In our culture, externals get over-emphasized. Appearance. Cosmetics. Clothing. Jewelry. Hair dressing. For women especially, it can be easy to begin judging one's self solely by appearance. That is often what our culture does. Honestly, I tend to appreciate a woman who is pretty when I get to see one. I mean, her adornment, her shape. She's an amazing creation of God! But I also always cringe and wonder -- what happens when her external beauty deteriorates with age? Will man still love or look at her? Then, perspective restores my balance about what is "permanent beauty." Physical beauty is temporal. Inner beauty is eternal. Peter describes this inner beauty as the "hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3: 3-4). External beauty is important but not as important as internal beauty. If the inner beauty is high, it's amazing how much less significant the external appearance becomes!
In our culture, externals get over-emphasized. Appearance. Cosmetics. Clothing. Jewelry. Hair dressing. For women especially, it can be easy to begin judging one's self solely by appearance. That is often what our culture does. Honestly, I tend to appreciate a woman who is pretty when I get to see one. I mean, her adornment, her shape. She's an amazing creation of God! But I also always cringe and wonder -- what happens when her external beauty deteriorates with age? Will man still love or look at her? Then, perspective restores my balance about what is "permanent beauty." Physical beauty is temporal. Inner beauty is eternal. Peter describes this inner beauty as the "hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3: 3-4). External beauty is important but not as important as internal beauty. If the inner beauty is high, it's amazing how much less significant the external appearance becomes!
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