We – and I include myself in this far too often – form our impressions of someone based solely on what we see. We rarely take the time to move past external appearances to get to know the person. It’s human … it’s natural … and it’s too bad. Others, of course, are doing the same to us and, with all modesty, losing out on building relationships with some wonderful people!
Without meaning to, it’s easy to become very judgmental people. Social media doesn’t help, but the problem goes back long before such a thing existed.
“Do not look on his appearance or the height of his stature… for the Lord sees not as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, NRSV).
Samuel had been entrusted by God with a very important task: go find Israel’s new king. We all have impressions of what a king should look like: tall, distinguished, imposing … in a word, regal. Samuel thought he knew the expectation. Until God changed the standard.
It’s not the outward appearance that matters; it’s the heart.
We spend a lot of time working on our outward appearance, whether we like to admit it or not. We shower, wash our hair (and generally try to do something with it, although some are more successful than others), pick out the “right” clothes and shoes for the occasion, go to the gym, put on makeup or shave, and so on. But we pay very little attention to our hearts.
I’m not saying that we should ignore our appearances entirely, but if God cares most about our hearts, perhaps we need to spend a little more time caring for them.
There’s a saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” If you are emotionally, mentally, and spiritually dry, you have nothing to give to anyone else. We know that when we’re run down and tired, we lack the energy to show up, let alone help others. But do we think about the toll that anger takes … or frustration, dissatisfaction, or our personal obsessions?
God’s reminder to look at the heart isn’t only for others. It’s for ourselves as well. Those who are outwardly hardest on others tend to be inwardly hard on themselves. And that is exhausting.
So, today, give yourself grace. Spend a little time working on your heart. Then try to find someone to offer the same grace. Ignore the outside and look for the hidden image of God.
Have a blessed day and a wonderful weekend!
