I Samuel 16: 7
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.
God has sent Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem in order to anoint one of his sons to be the next king over Israel. When he saw Jesse's oldest son, Eliab, he was so impressive, Samuel thought this must surely be the one. But God told him otherwise, in this verse.
And we can see a very basic principle here about people that is important to know and consider in our own lives: people make first impressions based on how they look, but what is in their hearts will determine if they are the kind of people we want to associate with.
So often people with golden hearts are discounted by the World because their looks don't measure up to the World's standards. Maybe they're misshapen, or they're not as bright as the norm, or in some way they're different from the crowd. These are the ones who tend to slip through the cracks from being famous or honored. These are the ones who are more precious to the Lord.
And if we are going to be like our Father, doing life according to His ways, then we will befriend the ones who are not accepted by society. We will give them the respect every person deserves as being made in God's image, and loved by Him. (See James 2:1-13.)
And in doing this, we may experience the same side-lining by society, being judged by them by our associations. But if we're concerned with what our neighbors think, rather than how God sees, then we need to reorder our priorities by getting into the Word to learn to align our thinking processes with how God thinks.
O my Father, please teach us how to see with Your eyes, how to think Your thoughts. Help us to see others' true character, to make friends with those who have made You their friend, and to have compassion on those who have not known Your ways yet.
Keep us faithful to You, Father, according to Your Word and Your ways. And may our lives shine forth into the World with Your light, to draw the victims of our enemy out of the darkness that enslaves them.
Help us to make Your other children our nearest friends, who will hold us accountable, and walk with us as we seek Your face.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
