Inner Beauty

1 Peter 3:3-4 -- “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”

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There is a lot of pressure from society to look, dress and act a certain way. Unfortunately, this does not always sync up with what God expects of us.

It is easy to want to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. We want to fit in with society, which in itself is not the issue. The problem, and what God warns about, is when our focus leaves God and settles on earthly things. We cease to use our resources on kingdom business and use it only on ourselves. This leads to vanity and pride, which are sins that stand between us and God.

We must be conscious of how we act. When we try to imitate the world, it is easy to lose focus of the love we are to spread to others. God calls for a “gentle and quiet spirit.” This doesn't mean we are not allowed to speak, but that our words are kind and our manner is honorable.

God doesn't focus on what we look like -- he sees us only by what is on the inside. God recognizes us by the state our our hearts.

Dear Lord,
Help me to focus on what is on the inside, not what is visible to the world. Give me a kind and loving heart to others and see them for what is one the inside as well.

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