Inner Beauty - Thoughts about God Devotional

“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

As I walked through the neighborhood, I noticed a for sale sign in a front yard and below it hung another small sign that said, “I am beautiful on the inside.” I pondered the meaning and thought how often we use worldly standards of beauty to judge, but God judges beauty on the inside.

It is not what we wear or put on, but it is what is inside that counts. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:28) Man looks at the surface, but God sees what is underneath.

Unfortunately we live in a superficial world where people do judge on appearance. We would all love to say that we are not in the majority, and that we all look beyond what’s on the outside, but virtually all of us are influenced by appearances.

Yet, we need to keep appearance in perspective. The Bible tells us that it is important to present ourselves as nicely as possible, but God does not call us to go to extremes. It is important that we remain aware of why we do the things we do to look good. Ask yourself two questions:

• Does your focus on your appearance take your eyes off the Lord?
• Are you more focused on your weight, clothes, or makeup than you are on God?

If you answered, “Yes,” to either of the questions, then you may need to take a closer look at your priorities. The Bible tells us to look closer at our hearts and actions rather than our presentation and appearance.

Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

By John Grant
used by permission