Thought... into the heart

But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7 (The Message)

Capt Alec read from Samuel this morning... the passage where David is annointed as the King of Israel... while Saul is still king.

I am drawn to verse 7 because God's response goes against the majority worldview of now. We look at the face instead of the heart. Outward appearance is so important today - think about the cult of personality and our obsession with people... clothes... possessions. All surface. All veneer.

I am pretty bad at this... I like my kicks and my threads and my toys... but I have [ i hope ] acknowledged the fact that the outside is a distant second to what is inside.

At the end of the day... kicks get dirty and worn... clothes go out of style [ or in my case get too tight (its that washing machine shrinking everything ]... toys tend to break, fail or become obsolete... but what's inside lasts... what's in the heart. Whether it is love and hope... or hate and despair... what is inside is what lasts.

The thing is you can pretend to be whatever you want to be... change the veneer... swap the mask... but you can't change what's inside. You need God's grace to change what's inside from destructive to creative... from pain to healing... from death to life.

Its better to have a dirty face and a clean heart... than a clean face and a dirty heart.

Hope this makes sense...

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