"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewellery, or the clothing you wear— 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
It still blows me away just how much money people spend off the desire for women to look beautiful. According to Statista, the US cosmetic industry revenue for 2016 was at $62.46 billion. That's a lot of money spent on the desire and need to look beautiful.
Basing a woman's beauty on more than just her physical appearance can sometimes be a challenge since we live in a day and age when the world objectifies women based on the brand of clothing they wear or shade of makeup they put on. And the sad part is that men aren't helping. We pay attention to the "pretty ones" by the world's standard more than we do the others who don't fit the mould.
That's what Peter talked about in 1 Peter 3:3-4. Talking to wives who were trying to win over their unbelieving husbands to themselves and to God, He taught them to not concern themselves over the adornment of external beauty — "the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewellery, or the clothing you wear."
What must matter most for a woman, and for anyone for that matter, is not what's on the outside but what's on the inside. God, after all, looks at the heart and not the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). In Proverbs 31, King Solomon speaks of a wife with "noble character" as being the one who pleases God and her husband.
Does that mean that focusing on the external doesn't matter? That's not necessarily the case. There's nothing wrong with being concerned about the external so long as it does not conflict with our adorning of "the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit."
God finds you beautiful. He looked at creation and considered it "good," the woman included. You don't have to worry about your image if you were created in the perfect image and likeness of God. We are given this privilege instead of participating in adorning ourselves further not just with external appearances but also with our internal character. That's what pleases God and consequently people around us—husbands, family and friends.
