³ Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— ⁴ 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.

1 Peter 3:3-4 NKJV

In this chapter of 1 Peter, the focus was on the conduct of wives. However, I’m going to turn these verses towards Jesus’ future bride, the Church (Eph. 5:22-24; Rev. 21:2). The church, I want to remind you, is the congregation of all those who sincerely walk by faith and obedience to the way of Christ. Notice my use of the word sincerely, which means honest or true.

In this scripture, Peter, like Paul, was letting wives know that they didn’t have to dress a certain way nor adorn special jewelry to seek favor. We are all so concerned about our outward appearance because we live in a world where the outward appearance is what is judged. I remember growing up, we were taught that you had to dress a certain way to earn respect. Jobs have become a lot more relaxed now, but we know there was a time when if you had tattoos, dressed a certain way, or if you wore your hair a certain way, you couldn’t get the job.

So, Peter, like Paul, focused on the “hidden person” or the “inner man”. Who is the hidden person? The hidden person refers to our soul. The hidden person is who we are on the inside. As much as we concern ourselves about our outward appearance, both Peter and Paul would tell us to be just as concerned about our hidden person. The notion is that a wife can adorn herself with the fanciest of jewels but second by second, that jewel is decaying.

For those who don’t care for the hidden person, their soul is also decaying second by second. As much as we care for the outward appearance of the church, the soul of the church needs to be cared for today. We can help care for the soul of the church by caring for our soul. To do this, we must flee from what is unhealthy or sprint to that which is healthy for the soul. Will you do that today?