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Catholic Questions & Answers In 1 Pet. 3:1 ff, in his advice to the couples, St. Peter admonishes the bride, "do not let your beauty be that outward adorning of arranging the hair, of wearing gold, or of putting on fine apparel" (V.3). Does this forbid bearing gold ornaments?
In 1 Pet. 3:1 ff, in his advice to the couples, St. Peter admonishes the bride, "do not let your beauty be that outward adorning of arranging the hair, of wearing gold, or of putting on fine apparel" (V.3). Does this forbid bearing gold ornaments?
No, in the advice given to the bride, Peter is making a comparison between the inner qualities of a woman and her outward appearance. In any language, when a comparison is made between two things, what we esteem more will be exaggerated at the cost of the other. For example, "Wisdom is more beautiful than the sun and all the constellations" (Wis. 7:29). This does not mean sun is less beautiful, or the beauty of wisdom and sun belongs to the same sphere. It only emphasizes the value of wisdom. In Mt. 6:19 Jesus says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth..," Does it mean that we shouldn't have any savings? No, what it means is that our security is not bank deposit but God. We must give prime importance to the providence of God 01.32). Similarly in the given passage Peter is emphasizing the inner qualities a bride must possess. They are the gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God, the submission to their husbands, and always doing good (1 Pet. 3:4-6). When compared to these inner qualities, all the 'make ups' such as beautiful arrangement of hair, wearing gold ornaments and putting on fashion dresses are of little value. If the bride possesses inner qualities and outward adorning, well and good. If she lacks the inner qualities and has only the 'make ups', worse it is. Hence Peter doesn't speak against arranging the hair or wearing the gold ornaments or putting on fine apparel. What he says is that the brides should inculcate the qualities such as gentle and quiet spirit, trust in God, and then adorn themselves being submissive to their husbands and doing good to all, being afraid of nothing.