Beauties Only Skin Deep

“When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.” 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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).God had rejected king Saul as rule over Israel so He sent the prophet Samuel to the city of Bethlehem to anoint a new king. Once Samuel arrived he consecrated a man by the name of Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice he offered to the Lord.When you think of a king you often think of some who is centered, has integrity, is decisive and demonstrates the ability to protect those he rules over. Samuel however put a lot of emphasis on other things like his external appearance and not His character.In a world where so much emphasis is placed on how someone looks demonstrates how superficial we can be. Our perceptions and limited understanding shape our thoughts and opinions of others and you have to be deliberate to rid yourself of any built in biases about another. When Samuel looked at Jesse’s sons he was looking for someone who looked like a king. God was looking for someone who was a king.We need to see others through the eyes of God. His focus isn’t on what someone looks like. He looks in our heart the part that rules our thoughts and actions to determine if you are devoted to Him. It is the heart that loves God that will do the will of God. Beauties only skin deep!