Monday, August 22, 2005

Heart Adornment

1 Peter 3:3, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

A quiet and gentle spirit? Ouch. For years, I didn’t particularly care for this verse of Scripture. Those of you, who know me, know I am anything but quiet. I talk loud. I laugh loud. I sing loud (much to the embarrassment of my children). I clap loud. I even walk loud. I’m just loud. Sometimes I try to be quiet, but as soon as I forget, I’m back being loud. This verse, which encourages women to have a quiet and gentle spirit seemed very illusive to me. Can’t I be loud and godly? My loud sisters know exactly what I’m talking about. I think the key here is “the hidden person of the heart”. There is not much hidden about a loud woman. Everyone knows what’s up with her – even those that don’t want to know or don’t care. Think about what hidden means. When you played hide-and-seek as a kid, did you make noise and draw attention to yourself? NO. You did everything to be as quiet as possible. You didn’t want to draw any attention in your direction.

Loud women draw attention to themselves and not in the positive way they think. It takes the Holy Spirit and practice to have a quiet spirit. Quiet does not necessarily mean silent. Sometimes silence is warranted. Sometimes speaking up is warranted. I am not talking here about speaking with the squeaks of a mouse so no one can hear you either. This has more to do with the heart than the volume of your voice. A quiet spirit is borne out of a quiet, settled heart.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a discussion of the gentle spirit.

Your challenge for today is to observe your interactions with others. Are you exhibiting a quiet spirit?

Diane

No comments: