Appearances

“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.”-1 Samuel 16:7

      We put too much stock in appearances. We glamorize people who look nice and, fantasize about their wealth desiring what they flaunt. Excess is the rule of law these days as people strive hard to out do others in the pursuit of vanity. Its a vicious cycle. 

        Curiously, this is not something that just happened suddenly. Tasked with the job of coming up with a new King in Israel, (because God rejected the selfish glory of its present king) Samuel travels to a humble town where God's new man for the job resides. Just like anyone else given the responsibility of choosing from a lineup of good looking young men, perhaps we also would have chosen David's brothers. They were more appealing and stout, but there was an inner quality that Samuel could not see that set David apart from the rest. 

        How much stock do you put in appearances? Are they pretty important? If they are, you need to ask God to change the way you look at things into the way He looks at them. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2