Saturday, February 11, 2012

A Gentle and Quiet Spirit, by Amy Joy

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 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

 What really struck me when I was meditating on this, was that having a gentle and quiet spirit is of "great worth in God's sight".  It can be so tempting to care about what other people think of us, and to a degree, that is of some value.  However, it is God that I want to please.  He is so great, and whatever He thinks is what matters, even if it is contrary to most people's views.  If something is of great worth in God's sight, then I really need to contemplate that and also hold it as valuable.  How incredible, that to God, for a woman to have a gentle and quiet spirit is beautiful and incredibly valuable!  


1 Samuel 16:7b says, "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  That is a familiar passage to many, but it goes along with it being important that our spirit is gentle and quiet.  This is something that does not come easy for me, but I believe in it and desire to have it.


It says in 1 Peter 3:1-2,"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives." 


The world values women who are bold and outspoken.  They are seen as powerful.  However, God's wisdom is that women are "powerful" by having a gentle and quiet spirit.  We don't need to try to be "powerful".  That does us no good.  That is not what God sees as beautiful and valuable. 


I love the story in Esther 1 about Queen Vashti when she refused to appear before the king's guests to display her beauty. Memucan, o e of the king's advisors said, "Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. For the queen's conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, `King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.'" Esther 1:17-18


Is this not what has happened in our society? As it says in Proverbs 12:20, "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." The examples of other people can be very influential on us, right? Whether they are actual people in our lives, or in the media, characters in books, entertainment, etc..  We have to be careful who we admire, so that we can grow wiser and not suffer harm.



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1 comment:

  1. SongbirdFebruary 16, 2012 at 9:06 PM

    Amy Joy,
    I appreciated your thoughtful article. It's so refreshing in this time of women's lib, loud, brash unfeminine character. Thanks for the good reminder of what God really likes in a Christian woman.
    Nelda Jo Byrd-Huddleston

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