Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. I Peter 3:4
The world is always cruel about the things we have no control over. Think of prejudice. It is centered on skin color, geographical origin, gender, all things that were part of the original package, designed by God, when we were woven together in our mother’s womb. But soon after the exit, it begins, the sorting of who’s who and what will be tolerated. The knee jerk reaction is a life time of experimentation to find a skin you’re comfortable in and so perfect no one could possibly find fault, all while proving one’s higher discernment by picking others apart. This build’s fragile families that have little chance of surviving life’s stress.
Nero’s persecution was horrendous. Peter probably wrote this letter shortly after Paul’s martyrdom. Peter teaches, the things of strength and comfort begin in the home with the two people that founded the family. When the world becomes the enemy, wives should offer loving devotion. A countenance of hope and faith trumps the torments of the world. Then, power of two becomes the winning majority.
Biblical tradition tells that Peter’s own wife, Concordia, was martyred in Peter’s presence shortly before his own life was taken. Together, they stood firm and changed the world of Christianity by their character, not their earthly gathering of baubles and bows.
Love,
Gretchen