Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, wearing of find clothing, but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit ...

1 Peter 3:3

Idols are things are things that you would rather play with or do than study the Bible. They might be Legos or some toy. Some TV programs and books make it so you do not want to study the Bible. Money can become an idol, if that is all you think about.

God asked Jacob to take his family to Bethel where he had seen the angels on the ladder twenty years before. Jacob told his family stories of the angels he had seen on the ladder. A soft look came over the faces of each one in the family. When Jacob requested that they bring their idols and jewelry to him, they brought them. After the family had cleaned their clothes and discarded their ornaments and idols, they had dedicated at Bethel.

(Genesis 35: 1-4)

In Exodus 33 the Bible tells us that when the people of God were about to enter the promised land, they turned to idolatry and worldly ways. They began to dress and adorn themselves in the same way. God was upset with them. God asked them to take off their ornaments. They took them off by Mt. Horeb. We are about to enter the promised land. It won't be long until Jesus comes.

When Hoseah's wife turned away she decked herself with earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers. She forgot about God. (Hosea 2: 13) In Jeremiah 4: 30, God said that when His people were spoiled, they would wear their ornaments and paint their faces trying to make themselves beautiful.

We pay thousands of dollars for a rock or a string of pearls. It becomes a source of pride while it hangs on the outside. It is designed to draw attention to self.

But real beauty is not outward decorations of gold or pretty clothes or painting of the face. The real beauty comes from the meek and quiet spirit. It comes from the joy of knowing God. Real beauty leads people to see Jesus in us, not the world. Such ornamentation is priceless.

1 Peter 3: 3 and 1 Timothey 2: 9- 10