Appearances and Hearts

We are quick to judge people.

We're fast to look at someone who's overweight and think they're a glutton, without considering that while they could overeat, it could also be they suffer from a medical condition that makes their body gain weight easily.

We look at someone who is sickly, and think they're living an unhealthy lifestyle filled with junk food and devoid of exercise. And while that could be true, we rarely acknowledge that they could also be suffering from food intolerences yet undiscovered, that they could be trying their best to take care of their bodies to little or no effect on their condition.

And I'm sure all of us girls have had that friendship with a girl who looked pretty and maybe was even popular, who seemed kind and likable, the perfect friend. But we soon found out that, while she might be a good friend for someone, it wasn't a good friendship for us, either because she was a horrible person or we had nothing in common.

Some of us have had crushes or relationships with guys where from all outward appearances he was the perfect prince, but when we got to know him, his personality and character were severely lacking.

We're quick to look at someone's outer appearance and use that as a guide to their inner being. And while sometimes that may be accurate, chances are we'll be sorely mistaken in our assessment.

Samuel fell prey to this kind of thinking when he went to anoint Israel's next king (1 Samuel 16: 6-13). He thought Eliab, David's older brother, must be the chosen one because he looked like a king. He was tall and handsome, from all appearances a leader of men. He was the oldest. He would be the head of Jesse's household when he died, the leader of his family. Surely this was the man.

But God saw his heart, that it wasn't what He wanted in a king. He told Samuel that He had already rejected him:

“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” ~ 1 Samuel 16:7, NKJV

Instead, He chose David. David, who wasn't even around until he was called in from watching sheep. David, the youngest.

We tend to look at the outward appearance, and make our judgments based on that. I know I've done it plenty of times. But God knows that appearances can be deceitful. Instead, He looks at the inward heart of a man or woman to determine whether he or she is willing and available for His plans.

Eliab looked like a king, and if God hadn't spoken to him, Samuel would likely have anointed Eliab. But in the very next chapter, when Goliath taunts Israel's armies, his character is revealed. When David asks about what's happening, he accuses him of abandoning his duties and coming to gawk, when their father told David to come (1 Samuel 17:17, 22-28).

(Even if David hadn't gotten a chance to tell Eliab why he was there, the fact that he jumped to those conclusions about his brother is interesting. It makes me wonder if Eliab judged David based on what his conduct would've been if the roles had been reversed.)

But we all know what God made of David's life, whereas you probably didn't even remember Eliab's name (I didn't until I looked it up).

We need to beware looking at only the appearance without searching out a person's heart. Saul looked like a king, and yet he failed to obey God (1 Samuel 9:2; 15:1-23). Eliab looked like a king, and yet he also was found unfit. David, from all appearances, would never be anything more than a shepherd boy. But it's pretty amazing what God works out when He finds a willing heart.

I wonder, if we were less obsessed with judging by the outward, less obsessed with the outward, what we would start to look like inside.