1 Samuel 16:7 The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
I am a sports fan and had the childhood dream of playing baseball for a living. I never came even remotely close to that. Now that I am older and cheer on the Phillies, I think about the scouts that look at all the potential young athletes and decide who gets a shot and who doesn’t. Some have the bodies but not the long-term stamina and concentration that it takes to achieve these higher levels of performance. The above verse is told to Samuel, one of the Old Testament prophets, as he was looking for the next king of Israel. We evaluate people based on so many different characteristics: Physical beauty or strength, intelligence, wit and charm, or the ability to make money. In this verse we are told it is the inner qualities that matter more than the outer. How much time, energy and money do we spend developing our inner person as opposed to our outer; our faith, hope and love as opposed to our face, hair and clothes? What about us really matters to God?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 