“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” — 1 Peter 3: 1-4
This one little word has been in my mind…. ornament. We as women of God are supposed to have a meek and quiet spirit. Sometimes the idea of being meek and quiet, especially towards my husband, seems crazy…let alone possible!! But why?
We as women are born with the desire to make our opinions known!! We want to have our feelings and thoughts known, especially to our husbands. It is a natural, fleshly desire that we have as human beings.
When my husband leaves his laundry in the floor…again…. I want to nag him to please pick up his laundry. When my children frustrate me and overwhelm me with their constant questions I want to get loud and mad. When someone wrongs me I want to talk about how hurt I am or how they shouldn’t have done this or that. When my husband makes a decision that I don’t agree with I want to make my disapproval known. When something goes wrong I want to grumble and complain… don’t we all? We as women are born with the desire the be known and heard.
However we are told that a meek and quiet spirit is of great value to God. So why is it so hard to have a meek and quiet spirit? Because we were born with the fleshly desire to be known and we have the PUT ON the ornament. An ornament is something that you put on something to make it more attractive. An ornament is not original to the piece.
Women adorn themselves in make-up, clothing and jewelry which are all ornaments. Instead we are to adorn ourselves in meekness and quietness. If our meekness and quietness is so highly valued by God, wouldn’t these qualities be valuable to our husbands?
I’ve been the nagging wife who claims to serve her husband and then constantly reminds him to pick up his laundry and clean up after himself and do this or that better…it’s not a fun place to be in. I’ve seen many marriages fail and they are usually accompanied by a nagging wife who just wants to be heard or justified.
What if instead of nagging our husbands to meet our standards we were meek and quiet, keeping our disapproval to ourselves and went to God with out desires? I wonder how our marriages would change… What if we waited for our opinions to be asked rather than needing to make them known all of the time? What if we showed that meekness and quietness to our children? What if when something went wrong, instead of grumbling and complaining we kept our mouths shut?
Father God, teach me to be meek and quiet! Remind me to adorn myself with those ornaments daily. Help me to crucify the flesh and wholly trust in You rather than myself or those around me.
