See The Heart
“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7
This is such a great reminder and lesson for each of us. As we go through our day, we are constantly making assessments of people and situations based on outward appearances. This places value on the individual, which can determine how we treat them. We have all done it one time or another.
I want to share a story, and in no way is it meant to be offensive or insensitive, but instead to reveal how we sometimes see and approach people. Some years ago, I was invited to a meeting about business. The room was filled with professionals and their spouses, when this couple came in; the wife looked casual, and most would consider her appearance normal. But the husband arrived in a tank top t-shirt, shorts, a black head bandana around his forehead, with a long full beard, and was fully covered in tattoos form the top of his neck all the way down to his feet. As you look at his outward appearance, he looked like a gang member or biker. The typical stereotype most people would make when they first see him. Now, I am not saying this is a correct response, but we all have done it.
He made an entrance and got the attention of everyone there. I just observed them, and it was amazing the different responses people had. There were those who seemed polite toward them, but you can tell they were uncomfortable. Then there were those individuals who knew them personally, they hugged them, embraced them, and you can see how they cherished their relationship. For me, I wanted to get to know him, not because of his successes or because he was trying to make a statement, but because what I saw was a man courageously willing to be himself. He dressed that way on purpose, and wanted to show his tattoos. Not because he woke up one morning and said, “I want to look mean or different,” but because there was a story behind it all. As I discovered who he was, I learned he had a difficult life, had done some time in prison, and many other things, but he had turned it all around after he accepted Jesus into his life, and he became a new creation. The thing is, he did not want to look or act like everyone else, but he wanted to be himself. He wanted to show the power of change Christ had in his heart, not his looks.
So, as you start your day, how do you perceive and view others. Are you seeing them by the natural, or are you allowing Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes to observe their heart?