Q2. Outer vs. Inner Beauty

[cct1106]

Women should look their best not by outward appearance but from within. The beauty that is within shines through to the outer person. Beauty is only skin deep. You can be beautiful on the outside and be ugly on the inside and that inner beauty of ugliness will shine through.

Women who count on the outer beauty are superficial. They're only thinking about how they look, if their hair is in place, if their lipsitck is smeared, etc. That beauty does not reflect the inner beauty for the word of God and his commandments.

The balance is simple. Concetrate on the inner beauty and it will shine through and then you will have inner peace and beauty and outer beauty. That is what God wants from women: The beauty that is within.

[dantanc]

A christian woman is to be properly dressed and groomed up, to insantly demand respect and to add dignity to the womanhood. When a woman tries to go an extera mile to make her look more attractive, not only she tends to spend more money on herself, spends more time on self, she could neglect her family and children and be a cause of distraction in the church.

A balance can be struck by being clean and simply attired, influencing other women also in word and deed.

[KarenAnn456]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

Looking your best as a christian women is to have a clean apperance and simple style of dress, hair and that is not too over done but smart, because this is a good first time appearance you are showing of yourself and you don't want to make others think your cheap, unlady like. This says something about how you conduct your life.

There is a balance on how you dress, if this is your whole life and it consumes you, then you have lost that simple balance of not putting too much in how your outter body looks, concern yourself with your inner self, your spirit and heart and your relationship with God.

The balance is simple dress, and being clean, but be more concerned on what the inside looks like, than the out side.

[aguilar-j]

I HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 39 YEARS AND

THIS STILL DOES NOT MAKE AN EXPERT

ABOUT WOMEN.

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURE WOMEN

HAVE AN INNER BEAUTY THAT SURPASESS

ANY THING FROM THE OUTSIDE.

WE ALL NEED A MIRROR A SUPPORT WHERE

WE CAN REFLECT AND BE TOLD ABOUT THINGS

THAT WE CANNOT SEE OR WE RATHER BE TOLD

THAN SEE.

MY WIFE DRESSES DISCRETLY BUT THERE IS NOT

A DAY THAT I REMARK IN HER BEAUTY AND ON HER

APPAREL, SHE SMILES AND SAYS THANK YOU.

MY WIFE KNOWS IN HER HEART WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT

AND SHE WALKS IN THE LORD DAY BY DAY

SHE FINDS HER BALANCE IN BEEN SUBMISSIVE TO THE LORD

AND BEEN THE SPIRITUAL LEADER OF OUR FAMILY.

MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU.

[Julie]

1. For it is a reflection on our spouses, and God.

2. When they spend more time on their beauty instead of spending time in Gods word

3. Keeping yourself in Gods presence, in His word, and doing what is right, and not spending your time worring about your clothes and hair.

[MoZes Marius]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

Women should try to look their best because it is not just appropriate but also reflects on themselves, their husbands, and most importantly on GOD!

When their focus on beauty is emphasized more on the physical rather than the inner beauty.

Adorn themselves so as to look beautiful but not overly. Keep the focus right.

[gatetrek]

Women should try to look their best because they were created by God and if they are Christians they should want to reflect the inner beauty which Christ gave them when he made them new creations.

When women and even men are more concern with the way they look on the outside that they completely forget their spiritual condition and relationship with Jesus.

They forget to maintain their inner beauty but take care of their outward apperance

completely.

The balance is to put Christ first and our spiritual relationship must continue to grow than our outward apperance will take care of itself.

[kitty]

When woman look their best it is pleasing to God and to their mates. We need to look our best for God.

By looking my best, I can divert the importance in my life. What am I most concerned with. My appearance, or my inner self.

When my outer beauty is shining more than my inner beauty, then we have not stayed in balance.

[Kim E.]

I'm the kind of girl who is wash and wear. I am very fair, so when I tried to use makeup it looked fake and cheap to me. So I am a natural woman now. I've never spent a lot of money on cosmetics because of this. So trying to look my best means that I'm constantly aware of how clean and bright my face looks, how clean my hair is, that my smile is bright, my body is always clean, my clothes are clean and respectable and I always smell good. That's a lot. My husband was drawn to that naturalness. He saw exactly what I was physically and he observed my beauty of spirit. No surprises. Women make a unique contribution to humanity. Our beauty of spirit brings beauty to everything around us. Our inner beauty reaches out to touch all of life. It is our unique ability to contribute beauty to life. Our capacity to love and support our husbands brings glory to him and to God. I only look my best when I'm doing that. Seems to me that the problems to look our best can not only affect us physically but mentally. You don't look your best when your competing with someone else. Trying to outdo someone else is always the wrong way to go. Women have problems with trying to look or act better than the next gal. If you're trying to do that then you've got a problem. My hope is that all women will ultimately be as beautiful as Sarah. A well balanced beauty would be to me a woman who is devoted to God and is submitted to her husband. Her relationship to God and her husband affects everything around her.

[jeffmcl]

a. Since we are made in God's image, the implication is that we have great worth and value. Accordingly, all people should strive to keep a clean, neat and attractive appearance without going to extreme measures that place an unhealthy emphasis on physical beauty.

b. An unhealthy overconcern with a woman's appearance may stem from a prideful spirit and reveals that she places too much emphasis on the external and superficial aspect of her personhood.

c. The balance can be reached by keeping clean, being neat and well-groomed, dressing modestly so as not to attract undue attention. It is more important to spend time in developing the inner woman rather than the outside appearance because the inner beauty of her spirit and character will remain when the physical beauty has faded.

[PressThrough]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

This may sound wierd, but when I am not feeling well, I will spend some extra time on the outward appearance and I feel better; some how my spirit is lifted. It's not that anyone will see me, by chance they might, but that's not my reason for doing it.

(As I wrote my responce here, it came to me that by doing this (bathing, and getting dressed in my Sunday's best, and a little makeup), that it is spiritual, for the act of doing it took my focus off of being sick and I became able to Praise God for I wasn't concerned about that headache or how ill I was feeling.)

Looking at scripture: 1Ti 2:9 we are told to adorn ourselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array, But with 1Ti 2:10... good works.

Now looking at Isa 3:24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

So yes we are to be clean, and can wear some perfume. Our apparil should be that of neatness, so as to not draw attention to ourselves. And yes we should take care of our hair, we just don't have to go to extremes with it and innerweave gold into the braids as this was a common thing with women of loose morals. As far as makeup goes, I think modesty is the key. If a little helps even out the color for public appearances, then I think it's ok. Any other accentuations is for the husbands pleasure<<<who is the God-head of the family). We represent our Father in heaven, and He is Exquisit, and His creation is beautiful and easy to look at<<<<That is why we should try to look our best.

Trying to look our best by adorning ourselves with gold and silver and loose clothing (I'm talking about the lack of clothes or extremely tight fitting), and sparkling eye lids, is for drawing attention to ourselves. It even suggest's to me the hiding of the true self. It is a distraction, like: look at what I have on and see what my body looks like, but don't see the inner me because maybe they don't feel beautiful about who they are, or even know that they are beautiful to God. (exception>>it is ok behind closed doors for your husband)

The balance is in motivation. Who are you doing it for and for who's Glory? If we read the scripture and obey God, then we know that we must take care of our selves in modesty, daily. We just don't go over board so as to make that what is important. All that God created is already ours and is beautiful in it's natural form, so why exploit it and give all your attention to getting it? Store up for yourselves Treasures in Heaven, that nobody can come in and steal, and that doesn't rust, and that moth's can't eat, and which come from the heart.

[spclk22]

Women should try to look their best but, should not forget that their inner beauty is just as important as well. Some women concentrate too much on what they look like that they lose who they are inside. We cannot forget what it is htat is important to God.

[Mary the craftmaker]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

I think looking your best should reflect your inner spiritual glow of the holy spirit. Your genuine love of Christ that you have within will appear on your exterior and it will show in your walk, your talk, your mannerisms, and even how you dress. I have found that there were things I wore before I surrendered my life to Christ that I will not wear now because it is no longer a reflection of who I am.

It is a big difference when you are trying to look your best out of being fashionable, as I can attest to, because for me, it only revealed to me that I had some deep seated insecurites that separated me from God. It diverted me from what was really important - cultivating my relationship with HIM. Once I truly gave my life and soul over to him and allowed him to use me, the healing process started and I began to see that no matter how flashy my apparel may be, it does not mean a hill of beans if you are not embraced by the love of your savior.

[peggysue]

we should be respectable and presentable,but that is easy to say,some people are in third world countries starving,there are

women on the streets,so you have to live the best with what you've got,God sees the inner heart

[heatherdills]

Women should try to look their best to be a good representation og God, themselves, and their spouse. Trying to look their best can divert women from what is more important by placing the importance on the external rather than the internal. The balance is to have good personal hygeine as well as a sense of modesty.

[mollymadhat]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

Women should look neat and clean but we should not strive to have piles of expensive clothing. Shopping for something new all the time should not be our primary source of entertainment. Also the extravagance of getting your nails done and having lots of jewelry, these are distractions that lead only to self. When we focus all our time and money on self, we lose focus of Jesus Christ. Our balance should be to look clean and modest without striving for all the latest trends. Our striving should be for inner beauty, the beauty of a quiet and gentle nature.

[N.I.C]

God wants us to live "excellent" lives. He wants us to do our best and to present our best in everything. God doesn't want us to be lazy or slopy individuals. OUr appearance says something about both ourselves and God. It also models how we view ourselves and our life. And everyone knows that when we look goo, we feel good and that helps us to feel more confident as we go about our business during the day.

Women who are only concerned about looking their bes and being on top of all the latest fashions and trends to out do each other, thats way out of balance. God calls us to live a well balanced life. He doesn't want our focus to be just on ourselves, too much attention can steal our time away from God.

The balance is to appreciate who God created and to care for the body that God spent so much detail on. Think about it, it took 9 months for God to knit you together in your mothers womb. According to God we are exactly as we should be. The bible says that we are all "FEARFULLY & WONDERFULLY MADE." we need to do the best with what God gave us and to spend a certain amount of time grooming and set aside time alone with God, our families and our work. (Actually we should work our schedules around God.)

[steve.c]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

This is a man answering but I think what I am going to write applies equally to men. Jesus told us, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" [Matthew 6:25] Clearly Jesus did not mean that we should go around in rags or be unkempt and unwashed. He meant that dress is not a priority of life. Fashion is not important. If we are too fashion conscious, we are not putting Jesus at the centre of everything we do. Peter follows this teaching but also says that we should not use dress or adornment to draw attention to ourselves. Men and women should be appropriately dressed for the occasion but not too fashionably dressed which might draw attention to them. So you would wear much smarter clothes to church than, say, for a barbecue. Obviously we should be clean and neat. If a woman wears cosmetics, it should not be very noticable. Personally, I think greater emphasis should be on a woman's modesty and her inner beauty and so her clothing and hairstyle should be simple, plain and not revealing and little, and preferably no, jewellry should be worn. Men should have simple cropped hair and clothes that are the same as everyone else's so that clothing is not an issue. Man should have no adornments; rings, braclets or chains.

[L. Turner]

Women should always try to look their best; because not only does it reflect on them, but it also reflects on their husband and on God. When a women spends so much time on her outer beauty, she will neglect what's more important, her time spent in the presence of God so that her inner beauty maybe cultivated.

There must be a balance between the two, her time spent in the presence of God and her time devoted to making her outer self beautiful.

[Jewell]

Women should try to look their best because we are God's vessel, we are the temple of the Lord. To care properly for such a prized possession, we must do our best to care well for ourselves. That includes healthy diet, cleanliness, and a shine from the inside.

If we spend too much time on outer looks, it detracts us from what is most important - that which we are developing inside us.

The balance is to make sure that what we are building on the inside is always the more important - the scales need to be tipped that direction (not much balance in that statement).

[Craig]

Women should strive to look their best to honor their God, husbands and self. Part of moral excellence is keeping ourselves groomed properly. A Christian should strive for excellence in all areas of their life.

When personal grooming becomes an obsession, like anything else, to the neglect of spiritual values and disciplines, a spiritual problem develops.

The balance is keeping Christ in the center and balancing everything else in proper proportions around Christian values.

[Christian Girl]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

I believe a woman should look her best because that honors God and makes her feel her best. But when a woman concentrates solely on her looks or what she is wearing instead of making her inner beauty a priority, she is missing the point of what God wants us to do. God looks at the heart, so if you look beautiful yet act the opposite, your actions would be honoring the devil, not God. The balance is making the effort to be beautiful overall yet remembering that inner beauty radiates out to create, outer beauty. Being clean and neat is a secondary way of honoring God and making ourselves feel good.

[Robin D]

We should look our best in a way that is pleasing to God and also our husbands, being cleaned and well groomed and dressed nicely. Our bodies are a temple. Trying to look our best in excess can divert us from God because God looketh on the heart, not the outward appearance. The balance is to not get caught up in our vanity. We are not commissioned to

"Go ye therefore and look stunning!" We are commissioned to "Go ye therefore and teach all nations."

[Tabatha]

Q2. (3:3) Why should women try to look their best? How can trying to look their best divert women from what is more important? What is the balance?

The temptation is to attract her husband to her faith by attracting him to herself. Not the inner self, but the outer self. Peter warns against this. He talks about the beauty which Christ gives to a believer as opposed to the beauty of th world which passes away.

( verse 3 ) " Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine cloths." You know some have taken this verse to be a prohibition of such things. This isn't the case. Peter isn't suggesting that women stop putting their hair up or wearing jewelry or wearing clothes.

The problem Peter is addressing here in our text has to do with excess. Peter has nothing against braided hair as such. But here the idea of braiding was an elaborate process of taking the hair and forming it into intricate patterns which took a great deal of time. It wasn't something the woman could do on her own. It cost a great deal of money as you paid a specialist to spend hours going through this process.

It's a good thing for women to be attractive for their husbands. And that will vary between people but keep in mind that the husband really responds to his wifes inner beauty which should not be neglected for outward beauty only which we are so tempted to accentuate.

What would be the point of dressing up in your finest dress and putting on your finest jewelry when your attitude is contentious? How will that effect your husbands attitude when he only wants peace in the house and he's got a beautiful looking but argumentative wife

[John Weir]

Most women have an inherent beauty about them that makes them attractive and appealing to males. God made them this way for a purpose, that they would be desirous to their male counterparts. So it is that they try to look their best. My wife has no ulterior motive in trying to look her best at all times, but to show her pride in her appearance.

If their attitude is wrong, and the motive is for the wrong relationship with a male, this will divert them from their relationship with God.

The balance is to please God by taking care of one's appearance, and at the same time doing it to honour God and not to please and draw attention to oneself for the wrong motives