The ‘Gentle and Quiet’ Spirit
This verse in 1 Peter 3:3-4 always bothered me:
‘Your adornment must not be merely external – braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry and putting on dresses, But let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of G-D’.
OK, I am neither gentle nor quiet…so, that must mean I also don’t possess these qualities that are most precious in G-d’s sight, which means I have no ‘favor’! MAJOR BUMMER…WHAT NOW?!
EXCEPT, that’s not what the original text teaches us…
Here’s a more concise rendering:
Your [1]WORLDLY AFFAIRS must not be merely exterior – such as braiding of hair, wearing jewelry and putting on dresses [[2]i.e., what you want people to see with the physical eye]; But LET IT BE THE CONCEALED PERSON OF THE HEART with the indestructibility of a HUMBLE and AT REST SPIRIT, which is highly valued in the [3]Face of G-D.
Ahhhh, now that makes sense! (Read it again!) Being HUMBLE and AT REST (tranquil) is so precious in G-D’s FACE because HE LOVES US SO ENTIRELY! WE are beyond precious to HIM. And since we are looking toward HIS FACE, we are acquiring HIS HUMILITY…HIS SHALOM within that imparts within tranquility and beautiful rest. HE gives us GOOD!
How do you conduct your worldly affairs?
Is it merely external for the applause of men?
Or is it what G-D desires for you – THE ADORNMENT WITHIN – the Humble and At Rest HIDDEN SPIRIT that only The Lover of the soul can give to each concealed person?
The world actually does see. It is G-D’s DELIGHT that they see HIS HEALING LIGHT that brings them rest as well!
[1] Gk. kósmos (Strong’s #2889) – the world, worldly affairs, ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e. the arrangement of the stars, ‘the heavenly hosts’, as the ornament of the heavens.
[2] My notes
[3] In Hebrew, there is no word for ‘presence’. The word is ‘pânı̂ym’, meaning face, such as we can see in Psalm 16 ‘Before YOUR FACE is fullness of joy…’ as one looks into His Glorious Healing Radiance.
