Adornment as a holy woman following Jesus

Be adorned.
Be adorned appropriately for a woman professing holiness.
 
This message was strongly spoken to me as I was almost asleep. What did it mean? I knew the scripture laid on my heart at the time it was spoken, but I realized I didn’t have full understanding of it. I had been studying the topic of jewelry and where to draw the line with accessories. It went along with my modesty blog and the series I had planned. My plans were to study and address the specific topics. When I thought of a woman adorned, I had an image in mind. I pictured big diamonds, gold, expensive jewelry, high-cost clothes, a painted face, Hollywood name brands, riches. I felt the need to look up the definition of adorned. Doing so changed my whole perspective on this topic.
 
What does it mean to be adorned? As a worldly woman? As a godly woman?
 
1 Timothy 2:9-10 (American Standard Version)
In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment; but (which becometh women professing godliness) through good works.
 
1 Peter 3:3-4 (American Standard Version)
Whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
 
To adorn is defined as “to make more beautiful or attractive”.
Synonyms: enhance, beautify, prettify, embellish, and bejewel. Ornament and “add ornament to” are also listed.
 
What is an ornament?
Noun: a thing used to make something look more attractive but usually having no practical purpose
Verb: make (something) look more attractive by adding decorative items
 
Are earrings an ornament??? I had never thought of it that way.   
 
For so many years, I interpreted these two scriptures, 1 Peter 3:1-5 and 1 Timothy 2:9-10, that it was about being flashy. I thought of it as a principle of how we shouldn’t look rich or be showing off. No dripping in diamonds. No sporting gold chains like the world. No expensive jewelry. No elaborate hairstyles (I later learned that back then women would braid jewels and fancy things into their hair to show off). We shouldn’t set our desires on worldly riches and symbols of status. It also could deter people from joining others at church if people seem to be of higher income status than the visitors. Be modest. Be humble in our appearance. Let’s not be all about our looks. Character matters more.
 
I still agree with that. I still think that’s an accurate interpretation and a guideline we should live by. I think there’s more to it though. Adornment is more than a list of items not to wear.
 
I had never even questioned these things before I started going to an Apostolic Pentecostal church. I’d read these verses before, but never studied them. I’d never heard them taught before. I used to wear a lot of jewelry and I always wore makeup. For years, I did not want to leave the house without makeup. I was uncomfortable with people seeing my naked skin, redness and flaws. Not having any jewelry on made me feel like I wasn’t fully dressed. I put my earrings in as part of putting my outfit on. I’d wear a wrist full of bracelets and often a necklace sometimes two at a time. It made me feel prettier. I felt more confident when I was done up.
 
Even after becoming Apostolic (in 2011) and starting to dress modestly, I still continued with the cosmetics and accessories. I cut back a lot. I was more natural with the makeup, less eye-catching. I took out my 2nd and 3rd earrings leaving just the first hole because I thought that was more modest. I wore jewelry a lot less than I did before (because I felt expected to not wear it at all). I considered following the traditional Apostolic way with the no jewelry or cosmetics, but I didn’t understand why they did it. I didn’t see it in scripture, and I had no conviction on it for many years.

Why

Why do Apostolic Pentecostals not wear cosmetics or jewelry? Why do the women look so different from what is mainstream in our culture? The long hair, the skirts, no pants, no makeup, no nail polish, no jewelry… Why do they look set apart this way? Let’s talk about what the scriptures say on how we should look and let’s talk about navigating boundaries. Figuring out where to draw the line on this certainly requires seeking the Lord on the matter and obeying the lead of the Holy Spirit.

Disclaimer

Friendly note to say these views are my own. I’m not officially representing my church’s views here or a denomination (my church is WPF but I am independent of denomination). If you have questions about standards, I encourage you to talk to your pastor’s wife.

Scriptures

Let’s look at the scriptures first. I want to keep it focused on New Testament here. There are plenty of verses in the Old Testament that show God’s people wearing jewelry. They wore earrings, nose rings, bracelets, and more. They wore gold. There are also stories of them using their gold to make idols. They’d draw attention to themselves (Isaiah 3:16-26). Is it the jewelry or the behavior? I could get wrapped up in trying to make heads or tails of that for years.
 
1 Timothy 2:9-10
In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment; but (which becometh women professing godliness) through good works.
 
1 Peter 3:1-5
In like manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives; beholding your chaste behavior coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner aforetime the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands:
 
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.
 
Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
 
(All scripture taken from the American Standard Version)

Worldly adornment

What ways do we add beauty to ourselves when we are living in the world? How do we make ourselves more attractive in the secular way of life?

• More skin showing equals more sex appeal. It is common in the world for women to try to be more attractive to men by showing more of their bodies.
  
• We dress up. We add beauty with our clothing.
• We dress in an attractive way. We choose jeans that make our backside look good. Many women choose revealing clothing to attract attention to her body. Those shirts are more low-cut. Those clothes are tighter.
• We wear high heels because for some reason being ready to break an ankle is sexy.
• Makeup is one of the first things we do to hide our flaws and make ourselves look better. We cover our skin so you can’t see any blemishes. We highlight. We add color to our lips so we look more attractive. We paint our eyes to be wanted.
• We paint our nails to feel pretty.
• Many women get fake nails, fake eyelashes, fake hair extensions, etc. We add artificial things to our bodies to look more enhanced in our feminine beauty.
• We cut our hair and dye it to make it feel fresh.
• We go tanning.
• Perfume is put on to smell appealing.
• We adorn ourselves with ornaments, gold, jewels, beads, whatever jewelry we like to make ourselves feel like we’ve got some sparkle to us.

 
In some cultures, women are very extravagant in their adornment. Their makeup, body art, gold, and jeweled decoration from head to toe is attention-grabbing enough that you don’t even see the person behind the paint and ornaments. Some drape themselves in jewelry, even connecting gold chains from ear piercing to nose piercing. Others paint their face with so many layers and colors you can’t see their real skin. We call it beautiful.
 
We dress to impress. We show off our bodies. We add accessories to feel more beautiful. We focus our beauty on our appearance. Have you ever noticed that? In the secular world or in the mainstream, a woman’s beauty is all about her body. She modifies it, paints it, decorates it with jewels, dresses it immodestly or extravagantly because the world tells us this is beauty. But is this what beauty is all about in God’s eyes?

Godly adornment

1 Timothy 2:9-10 says to adorn ourselves with

• Modest apparel
• Shamefastness
• Sobriety
• Through good works

And not with braided hair, gold, pearls, and costly raiment (expensive clothing)
 
In 1 Peter it says to let our adorning be

• The hidden man of the heart
• The incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit

Not the outward adorning of braiding the hair, wearing jewels of gold, or putting on apparel
 
Instead of focusing on beautifying the body, we should focus on beautifying who we are as a person.
 
The way we adorn ourselves as godly women is not to be about outward adorning. It’s not about appearance. It’s not about being beautiful by expensive clothes and fancy jewelry and elaborate hair. No, a godly beauty is much deeper than that. A godly beauty is modest, not revealed, not drawing attention to the body. It is of godly spirit and heart and character. It is a woman made more beautiful by her good works.
 
It's not the body that we focus on adding beauty to. It’s the way we live. It’s the way we walk by the Spirit. It’s the fruit we produce. It’s the good works we do. It’s the behavior of a woman professing holiness.
 
We are a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are called to be separate from the world. We present our bodies as holy, and we renew our minds to be transformed to what is acceptable in God’s ways.
 
Godly woman,
Do not focus on adding beauty to yourself by decorating and revealing your body. Add beauty to who you are by how you live for the Lord. Make yourself more attractive with godliness and good works.
 
A note to the godly men,
Looks catch attention, but be intentional with looking at who she is. Look for a godly woman living a holy lifestyle. Be attracted to godliness, good works, a meek and quiet spirit, modesty, and decent appearance. 

Where to draw the line

Once my focus shifted from the list of what not to wear to the root being about adornment for holy women following Jesus, that transformed my understanding of what these verses are all about.
 
That also left me wondering where to draw the line. Can we still wear the things of the world that add beauty? Is jewelry okay in moderation? Are cosmetics okay if our heart is in the right place? Many would say it’s a heart matter. I think it’s primarily a holiness matter.
 
2 Corinthians 6:17 (American Standard Version)
Wherefore
Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord,
And touch no unclean thing;
And I will receive you,
 
2 Corinthians 7:1 (ASV)
Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
 
1 Peter 1:14-16 (ASV)
as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in the time of your ignorance: but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.
 
 
You, woman of God, be separate.
Come out from amongst them.
Cleanse yourself from all defilement.
Be holy.
 
Interestingly, the opposite definition of defilement is purification or sanctification. Is it impure to dip yourself in the world’s ways of adornment while also pursuing holiness and a separateness from the ways of the world?
 
These are the messages that I see in these scriptures.

1. Be modest. I have a separate blog on my personal modesty standards here.
2. Women of God adorn themselves differently than women of the world.
3. Don’t adorn yourself (add beauty) like the world does.
4. We need to glorify God with our bodies. We are a temple of the Holy Spirit.
5. We need to be holy and be separate from the ways of the world. We need to be clean from anything that is defilement or is impure.

 
Where do you draw the line? That’s a matter of personal conviction, and one you’ll have to seek the Lord on. Take time to think on these things:

• adornment as a godly woman
• adornment in the world
• dressing for attention, purposely drawing attention to your body by the way you put together your appearance
• modifying your body – cosmetic surgery, permanent makeup (basically tattooed makeup), tattoos, piercings, tanning
• body art – henna, body painting, gluing on decorations, etc
• cosmetics – hair dye, makeup for your face, nail polish, fake nails, perfume
• jewelry – expensive jewelry, inexpensive jewelry
• accessories – purpose vs decoration, cost of accessories, pantyhose/tights, shoes (attention-grabbing), hair accessories (moderation)  

 
I won’t preach that I have all the answers and people need to do as I do. You need to seek this out on your own. We all grow at our own pace. Be gentle with your journey; God is patient and compassionate.
 
One thing that is hard with this is the “Well she does that” way of thinking. There are so many good people out there who adorn themselves in the ways of worldly beauty but they are still good Christians. There are so many sweet and kind women with glittery eyelids, colored lips, and fake nails. It’s hard to let go of thinking “well she does that” as a way to justify also doing that. She has her own walk with God. So do you. This is entirely up to you where you draw the line for your own body’s adornment. It’s not a judgment on other women if you feel convicted to stop wearing something or abstain from something that happens to be common in our culture.
 
There’s also a lot of “If not this, then why that?” questions I’ve grappled with. There are plenty of hypocrisies to wade through. If not fake pearl earrings, then why fake pearls in the hair? What some lack in jewelry, they make up for in hair accessories. How are earrings wrong, but a whole headband of pearls is fine? If not nail polish, then why are French manicures accepted in so many Apostolic churches? After all, dollar store nail polish is humbler than dropping $40 on fake nails. If not necklaces, why jeweled broaches on the shirt? If not bracelets, then why watches with jewels when plain watches serve a purpose just fine? If not jewels or gold or pearls, why is clothing with fake jewels or ornaments not considered too much? If not slits in the skirt so it doesn’t lead the eye up, why high heels and fishnet tights that draw attention to the legs and also lead the eye up to the hemline? What about the hypocrisy of people who don’t wear jewelry in general, but they choose to buy extremely expensive wedding rings? I understand the rings have a purpose and I fully support the wearing of wedding rings, but is it necessary to buy a ring so flashy you can see it across the room? I could go on, and these issues vary from church to church. One church in town may push the limits with every accessory they can get away with while another church in the same city is more authentic to the principles behind the standards there.
 
There’s also something to be said for following your pastor’s lead and the traditions of Apostolic Pentecostal people for the sake of being in alignment with what your congregation does and doesn’t do. On the one hand, there is unity in that. I’m aware the bible says to obey our pastors and submit to them because they keep watch over our souls as those who will give an account (Hebrews 13:17). On the other hand, each person has to have their own faith and they should do so genuinely. No one should be expected to deny or hide their beliefs so they can conform to someone else’s beliefs. Matters of personal conviction are between you and Jesus.

Overall appearance

Overall, it is a privilege to be set apart from the world. It is a privilege to represent Christ. As women, we are especially privileged to be more noticeably different from the world as the mainstream culture pulls in the opposite direction of traditional church teachings. How great it is for people to be able to tell just by looking at us that we are dedicated to living for the Lord.
 
Our adornment should be different than the secular world. We should not be seeking after beauty focused on attraction to the body. Focus on becoming a more beautiful and attractive woman by being a good and holy Christian.
 
Modest. Humble. Natural.
Untainted with the world’s idea of beauty.
Pure. Undefiled. Chaste.
A quiet and meek spirit.
Godliness. Good works.
This is godly beauty.
 
 
How do you want to be adorned as a holy woman following Jesus?