Your beauty should not consist in externals such as fancy hairstyles, gold jewelry or what you wear; rather, let it be the inner character of your heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit. In God’s sight this is of great value. 1 Peter 3:3-4 CJB
Let us examine our true inner self and aim for this ageless beauty!
Says the hot-looking chick from India
. lol
Great op. That specific verse is one that's often alternatively abused and neglected. Certain Christian sects have developed entire theologies, doctrines, rituals and practices around this verse (and those they think related). Proof-texting and legalistic treatments invariably lead astray.
We should always endeavor to understand how that verse was intended and would have been understood originally. Much of
that remains applicable within the body of Christ, but some or much does not (everything having to do with the pagan religious dress and symbolism, for example, smply is not common within the body of Christ).
Alternatively, with your culture, gospels, I imagine (perhaps incorrectly) that attire and adornment may have a particular intersection with Peter's admonition not relevant much here in the US, but also an opportunity for affirmation and diversity. There are certainly various (sub-)cultures here in the US where hairstyle, jewelry, and attire intersect with the gospel.
We live in a very visualized, superficial, and sexualized society here in the US. I cannot speak to the Indian or other societies, but in the US the vestiges of appearance are constantly asserted as measures of value.
Lastly, and I mean nothing provocative or unseemly with this next part, it is common for those who are deemed inherently beautiful to doubt their worth and have difficulty in intimate relationships. This is particularly true of women who are not sure whether they are valued for their personhood or character or simply because they are physically attractive. This is marginally more true among those premaritally sexually active (horse or cart first?). Anyone privy to the inner workings of sexual addictions understands that men know two types of women are (generally) easy prey: those exceedingly overweight and those exceedingly beautiful (the predatory aspects different when the sexes are reversed).
The solution for all of the above is to know one's identity in Christ. In this regard I think Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, "Life Together" is a remarkable book because in it he works with a simple reality: the image of God is asserted by God Himself
differently in every single person He has created and we can never know that image 1) until we get to know that person (including our own self), and 2) let go of the idolatrous impulse to imagine that person made in
our image or the image of God we bear!
Those in Christ should begin with the simple overlapping truths 1) we are royal priestly sons and daughters of The Most High God, all equal among each other subordinate under Christ in the privilege of that inheritance and 2) we are to walk humbly before God and man (and women
).
