Looking On The Heart

“When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.’ 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 16:6-7

Samuel is a pretty perceptive guy by now. He hears directly from God; he knows God’s mind; he is steeped in God’s leading. He completely stands out for these reasons. And yet, he sees Eliab and thinks, this is it. In Hebrew, the word is emphatic: surely, without a shadow of a doubt. That is how powerful outward appearance is.

Our tendency to be biased by outward appearance is something so deeply part of our makeup that we have to step back very far to see it in ourselves. I was struck recently by how true this is when it comes to dating. Most Christian singles would say they prioritize the spiritual maturity of a potential date, but what they are really doing is first selecting the top handful of people who are most physically attractive. Then they look within that group and ask, okay, who has a good spiritual life? But they may have completely passed over men or women who would make fantastic life partners, ultimately on the basis of physical appearance.

This leads to a kind of spiritual myopia. Myopic people can’t see clearly not because the image isn’t being focused into a perfectly sharp point within their eye; their retinas are just a few millimeters too far back to receive it. Bringing what God sees into the focus of our own souls and minds takes intentionality. It takes practice listening for God’s voice: Samuel hears God speak continually here. It takes being willing to listen even when, or perhaps particularly when, it goes against our natural perceptions: Samuel obeys despite his own sure feelings. It may take letting more appealing options pass you by. It takes perseverance: Samuel continues through seven sons. It takes pressing into confusion with hard questions: Samuel asks, are all your sons here? It takes patience: Samuel is willing to wait there, standing.

When I look at people, I want to have sacred eyes. I want to look on their inward being as God does. I want to see both their true value and their true condition: because only then can I speak to who they are, in a way they can receive. Only then can I know how to respond, or when to respond. After all his journeying and listening and obeying and persisting and asking and waiting, the time came when Samuel emerged from his grief over one king to anoint another. God kept his promise to guide him, and it turned out to be a walk through this lesson: the Lord looks on the heart.