April 17, 2013
Inner Beauty
By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
Whether you are married or not, Peter has some good advice: The beauty of your character is your greatest asset. No matter what people say about you or do to you, your character says the most about who you are. The decisions you make when no one is watching determine the depth of character you possess.
In speaking directly to wives with unbelieving husbands, Peter reminds these women of the importance of letting their inner beauty shine brightly. He writes:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. . . . Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight (1 Peter 3:3-4).
As we respond to the call God places on our lives as believers, we cannot ignore the importance of living a life beyond reproach. The world can strip away all our worldly possessions, but it cannot take our names, what our names represent, and the character associated with them.
The more genuine you are with those around you, the more God will be able to use you as an encourager. Your credibility will rise. People will acknowledge you as a person of authority because you not only talk about it, you live it. As we spread the Gospel to a world desperate for the Truth, we must make sure our words align with our actions.
For the wife of an unbeliever, this passage in 1 Peter 3 is full of hope. It is possible to see the hardest of hearts softened and dramatically transformed through the power of God's love.
Prayer: Lord, help me live a life honoring and pleasing to You today; and let the world know it is real. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble" (1 Peter 3:
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