“Do not let your adornment be merely outward–arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel–“
Do not let your adornment be merely outward–
Peter does not argue against wearing jewelry. He is talking about what truly wins an obstinate husband. Inner beauty is more important than extrinsic beauty. Outward beauty and inward beauty are two different values.
The word “adornment” comes from the Greek word kosmos. Kosmos means order. Sometimes the New Testament translates this word as “world.” Kosmos is a system where order prevails. We get our English word cosmetics from kosmos. Cosmetics can help to bring order to a face.
Peter’s point here is that a woman does not win her husband by outward order. Outward cosmetics do not win her husband. Inward cosmetics wins the husband. This is inner beauty, a wonderful, feminine woman. The idea is that a woman’s symmetry does not come from outer beauty. If a woman orders herself on the inside, she will not fall apart during a crisis.
arranging the hair,
Now Peter turns to a list of items that will not make a happy husband. The first is the hairdo.The word “arranging” means braiding. Braiding is elaborate gathering of the hair woven into many tiers of knots. Women of the Roman Empire were addicted to ridiculous extravagance with their hair. They were afraid to touch their hair because it took so long to do. Many had wigs, often blond. Archaeologists found some of these wigs in the catacombs. They made their hairstyles of ivory and gold studded with gems.
Women in the Roman world would spend many hours braiding their hair. Sometime they would pile their hair three feet high. Hair that high is hard to carry around all day! They had to constantly keep themselves in balance. At night they had to prop themselves up so as not to disturb their hair. They could not put their head on a pillow. They put fantastic emphasis on outer beauty.
However, Peter is not arguing for dishelved hair. He is not saying that the shabbier you look, the more spiritual you are. Vance Havner said, “To be all out for God you don’t have to look all in.” Obviously women should make themselves as attractive as possible.
Principle:
God wants godly women to develop inner cosmetics of the soul.
Application:
A woman who is ugly on the inside will never win her husband. A biblically beautiful woman is beautiful on the inside. She orders herself on the inside.
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