Pastor Glenn: Outward Appearance vs The Heart July 14, 2021
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Sam. 16:7b
Dear Family,
After the failure of King Saul to faithfully serve and obey the Lord’s commands, he was rejected by God as king. The Lord gave Samuel a mission to go to the family of Jesse and there he would find and anoint the next king of Israel who would be man after God’s own heart.” But, Samuel fell into the trap that many of us have fallen into from time to time. When he “saw” the oldest son of Jesse, Eliab, he assumed by Eliab’s appearance that he must be the next king. Godly Samuel was wrong, and his mistake led to one of the greatest statements about human nature found in scripture. As Samuel focused on the appearance and stature of Eliab and concluded that he must be the next king of Israel, the Lord spoke to him and corrected his thinking concerning Eliab. 1 Sam 16:7 states, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The
Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ “
We often DO look at the outward appearance of not only people but situations and come to the absolute wrong conclusions. We “judge” by mere appearances, not taking the time to wait until all or at least more facts come out. The media industry in our country is notorious for doing this just for a story while in the meantime hurting so many people. God tells Samuel NOT to do this! Jesus even said a very similar thing to the Jewish people who accused Him of being demon possessed. In John 7:21 we read His response to this accusation, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” Jesus did not say not to make a judgment at all, as if doing so was wrong. He said make a right judgment by investigating all the
facts, using your mind and taking the time to “see” things for what they really are.
Friends, in our current climate as a country, the importance of NOT making judgments based upon mere appearances is so critically important. As followers of God who Himself “looks upon the heart” we must resist the temptation to make snap judgments based upon outward appearances. Regarding people, we need to take the time and make the effort to get to know the heart of a person. To get to know the heart of a person means we come to know the real person. It’s an investment that stems from our desire to love others as God commands us. “Love takes time, please be kind, see every part of me” are lyrics from Bryan Duncan’s song “Love Takes Time”, and they are so true!
Let us, as followers of Jesus, be known for not making judgments based upon outward appearances. Let us take the time to love people, come to know people and earn the right to point people to the One who can change their lives because He loves them!
In Jesus’ Love,
Glenn