Beauty within > Beauty on the outside

I was doing my devotions before going to bed last night and was reading in 1 Peter and came across a couple of verses I've read several times before but when I read it last night it really hit like a ton of bricks for some reason.  1 Peter 3:3-5 says, "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. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful..." 

We live in a society that SCREAMS perfection in our physical appearance.  Don't get me wrong, I do  most definitely think we should take care of ourselves and be well-kept but the value our society places on our looks is really sad and honestly, unrealistic.  Magazine after magazine exists solely to tell us what clothes we should wear, what make-up we should wear and how we should wear it, what purses we should buy, what shoes we should shop for... and we focus so much on how other see us on the outside that we forget that the true beauty comes within.  Because we have focused and placed such a high value on our outward appearance we have a huge epidemic of eating disorders, people addicted to diet pills, obsessed with exercise, etc. so we can somehow try to achieve that "Hollywood" look.

I have to remind myself too, it isn't about "keeping up with the Jones'."  Yes, I do like clothes and shoes (I am a girl :) but sometimes we place such a high value on how we look on the outside that we forget it's a matter of the heart.  "We are to clothe ourselves with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."  This should relieve so much burden from us all from trying to impress PEOPLE!  I was reading an article and they asked this question and I thought it was so perfect, "Whatever happened to what was inside of us was what really mattered and the outside was just a plus?"

Let's never forget beauty within far outweighs beauty on the outside!  Let us clothe ourselves with the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit...because it is SO precious to God! :)