Look on the Heart

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

There is such a premium in our society about outward appearance, the beauty industry has so many layers. In 2021 the beauty industry was a $511 billion industry according to common thread dot com. Even in the push for natural beauty there is a push of products to improve the natural look.

At the same time our society just hit a landmark decision by the Supreme Court overturning roe versus Wade regardless of how people feel about the decision, the heart of the matter is the heart of those involved. The woman and the child. God looks on the heart not the outward appearance. It is a decision that is once again dividing our nation.

It is so easy to want to focus on the outward appearance, the surface level so to speak. But like most things there is an important of going deeper than how things appear. Is it it is easy to slap a coat of paint or make up on something and call it pretty. I need to take the time to go deeper. To look at the heart.

When I find myself offended by someone, I will often ask myself what is their heart towards me? On very few occasions have I answered that it is not for me. Most people don’t set out to offend someone they care about. They may not agree about a particular thing but they also aren’t trying to hurt the other person. They’re trying to share how they feel about something; it is important to their heart. In our passion we get a little more adamant with our view. Our opinions come across strong because they are.

My nephew in his wisdom shared these words “Don’t unfriend me. Don’t block me. If we disagree, even on vital points I still want you to see my post and I still wanna see yours. Let’s quit insulating our bubbles. That’s why everything’s been polarized. Let’s learn and listen to other people in our community because that’s the only way we get better. If you can’t see me and I can’t see you, we don’t see who’s right we want taken away.”

Part of me wanted to leave off that last sentence, but I believe it’s important too because it goes both ways. When we can’t listen to both sides, we are attempting to cancel out the rights of the other side we don’t agree with. Sometimes there’s not a middle ground, but the heart is what we need to stop and recognize. We can be on polar opposite sides and still love and respect each other. We can still look at the heart of those we loved and know that is what matters. It doesn’t matter if the outward appearance is being on opposite sides, our hearts can still be uniting them love for one another.

Lord, help me to be more like You in those times if heated national conflict and passionate opinions. Help me to look at the heart of those I care about instead of the outward appearance and differences!