But
the Lord said to Samuel, “Do
not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have
rejected him; for God sees not as
man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 New
American Standard Bible (NASB)
Never judge a book by its
cover. The phrase has been around time out of mind, and probably came from this
verse. David’s oldest brother was tall, strong and handsome. When the prophet
Samuel met him he thought he must surely be the man God had chosen to be king,
but he wasn’t. God didn’t care what the man looked like. He was more concerned with
his heart. We as humans have limited vision; we can only see the outside. God,
however, can look inside. He made us and can see our very being. He knows each
of us better than we know ourselves. As a result, we need to be careful when we
judge people, for appearances can be deceiving. Many have said that serial
killers/rapists are so successful because they look and seem like really nice
people, the kind we instinctively trust. There are also many people who look
scary or creepy, but are really very kind, generous, decent people. All that glitters is not gold. When dealing
with people, we need to seek God’s insight before we rush to conclusions. We need
to try to see them the way He does, to love them as He loves us, and not write
anyone off simply because of how they look. We need to value the heart more
than outward appearances. It is important that we take that approach and attitude
with ourselves as well; paying more attention to the condition of our hearts
than we do to our faces and clothes. It is more important to be kind than good
looking. How do you look based on your heart? What can you do to improve your
heart’s appearance?
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