"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)
I read this verse today and it reminded me that God isn't hung up on appearances like so many people are. He looks at the condition of our heart. Anyone, with an expensive outfit, a complete makeover, a new hair style etc, can put on a good appearance. We can 'change' who we are on the outside. There are several 'back to work' groups who will outfit a woman with a new business suit and give her interview skills and a new hair style to help her get that dream job. And many times it works, and the woman is successful in landing the job. Our first impression is important so we do tend to spend a lot of time on our outward appearance. But God isn't looking at us in the same way that the world does. God doesn't care how 'pretty' we are on the outside, He does care though how 'pretty' we are on the inside.
Remember God looks at the heart. So how should our heart look to Him? Well to start with, I believe our hearts should be full of compassion. We should look for ways to help others. Our hearts should be full of mercy. According to Webster's dictionary, mercy implies "compassion that forbears punishing even when justice demands it". We need to show mercy to those around us. It is not up to us to punish people, leave them to God, He can handle it. Our hearts should be pure, not full of malice or hatred or jealousy. God searches our hearts to see if they are a worthy home for Him to dwell in.
We can clean up pretty good on the outside and still have a rotten heart. We can fool the people around us but we will not be fooling God. We live in a society where our outward appearances are a priority, but for the child of God our priority should be on the condition of our heart. Sometimes it means that our heart needs the makeover more than our outward appearance does. If your heart is pure and humble and loving, it really doesn't matter what the outside is saying because the love that is in you will be shining through.
I read this verse today and it reminded me that God isn't hung up on appearances like so many people are. He looks at the condition of our heart. Anyone, with an expensive outfit, a complete makeover, a new hair style etc, can put on a good appearance. We can 'change' who we are on the outside. There are several 'back to work' groups who will outfit a woman with a new business suit and give her interview skills and a new hair style to help her get that dream job. And many times it works, and the woman is successful in landing the job. Our first impression is important so we do tend to spend a lot of time on our outward appearance. But God isn't looking at us in the same way that the world does. God doesn't care how 'pretty' we are on the outside, He does care though how 'pretty' we are on the inside.
Remember God looks at the heart. So how should our heart look to Him? Well to start with, I believe our hearts should be full of compassion. We should look for ways to help others. Our hearts should be full of mercy. According to Webster's dictionary, mercy implies "compassion that forbears punishing even when justice demands it". We need to show mercy to those around us. It is not up to us to punish people, leave them to God, He can handle it. Our hearts should be pure, not full of malice or hatred or jealousy. God searches our hearts to see if they are a worthy home for Him to dwell in.
We can clean up pretty good on the outside and still have a rotten heart. We can fool the people around us but we will not be fooling God. We live in a society where our outward appearances are a priority, but for the child of God our priority should be on the condition of our heart. Sometimes it means that our heart needs the makeover more than our outward appearance does. If your heart is pure and humble and loving, it really doesn't matter what the outside is saying because the love that is in you will be shining through.
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