The Lord Looks On The Heart
Sermon
Many years ago when I was at Primary School, an Australian girl joined our class. This was intensely glamorous to us ten-year-olds, who had barely heard of Australia, let alone ever meeting an Australian. Not only did Margaret speak with an Australian accent, but also she was immensely tall, head and shoulders above the rest of us. She was adult height, although only ten years old.
In retrospect, I think she may have had a miserable time of it. She had to carry her birth certificate wherever she went, because bus conductors and cinema proprietors and so on would never believe that she was entitled to half price tickets. And of course, she was expected to behave not like a ten-year-old, but like an adult. However, none of those thoughts entered the heads of any of her classmates at the time.
During that particular year, the school staff decided for the first time to elect a Head Boy and a Head Girl. I can't remember who was chosen as Head Boy because he paled into insignificance, but none of us children doubted that the Head Girl would be Margaret. It was a foregone conclusion in the minds of both children and staff and not questioned by anyone. And afterwards, nobody looked towards the Head Boy but only towards Margaret. I don't remember her having any particular talents, but she was adult height and therefore automatically regarded as adult. I lost touch after that year because we all went on to different schools, so I have no idea whether Margaret went on growing or whether she stopped growing at the age of ten.
It's still a well known and accepted fact that on the whole, tall people are more highly regarded than shorter people. Even now, there is a little bit of inherent positive discrimination towards those who are tall. We like our heroes to be tall and strong.
Back round 900 BCE, when it was clear that Saul, the first king of Israel was falling away from God and going very wrong, Samuel the elderly prophet was told by God to anoint one of the sons of Jesse. Accordingly, all the boys were paraded before him. Samuel looked at the eldest, Eliab, and was delighted with what he saw, for Eliab was tall and strong and handsome, true hero material.
But God said, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Subsequently God made known his choice of David, the shepherd boy who was still only a child, although it's interesting that David's physical characteristics are especially mentioned, as we're specifically told that he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.
God may look upon the heart, but it's very difficult for us human beings to do likewise. We're often swayed by first impressions and those first impressions often have to do with physical appearance or deeply held prejudices which we rarely even acknowledge as prejudices.
For instance, many of us church people would be horrified by the thought of mingling with prostitutes. If we mingle with prostitutes at all, it is usually in order to help them, not because we wish to be part of their social world. There may be many lovely people who are prostitutes, but most of us would never discover that because we don't get past appearances.
There is a growing obsession with physical appearance in our Western world. The beauty industry is thriving and billions of pounds are now being spent on cosmetic surgery. And people who have had cosmetic surgery in order to alter their appearance, usually report that it has changed their lives. They're generally much happier afterwards because of the way they're now treated by the rest of society.
There is still deep seated racial prejudice in many of our institutions and in society at large, despite the government's efforts to instill equality by law.
God looks on the heart, but we don't.
How can we humans combat our instinctive reaction to appearance, be it a positive or a negative reaction? Perhaps not just by changing the law of the land (although that undoubtedly helps) but by growing closer to God, so that gradually God's ways become our ways and God's thoughts become our thoughts.
We can do that by constantly and continually spending time in God's company, giving God space to speak to us in some way, opening our hearts and minds to listen to God and responding to God's promptings.
David the boy king did exactly that and he became the greatest king Israel had ever known. When we give time and space to God, we too become great, whatever our outward appearance.
In retrospect, I think she may have had a miserable time of it. She had to carry her birth certificate wherever she went, because bus conductors and cinema proprietors and so on would never believe that she was entitled to half price tickets. And of course, she was expected to behave not like a ten-year-old, but like an adult. However, none of those thoughts entered the heads of any of her classmates at the time.
During that particular year, the school staff decided for the first time to elect a Head Boy and a Head Girl. I can't remember who was chosen as Head Boy because he paled into insignificance, but none of us children doubted that the Head Girl would be Margaret. It was a foregone conclusion in the minds of both children and staff and not questioned by anyone. And afterwards, nobody looked towards the Head Boy but only towards Margaret. I don't remember her having any particular talents, but she was adult height and therefore automatically regarded as adult. I lost touch after that year because we all went on to different schools, so I have no idea whether Margaret went on growing or whether she stopped growing at the age of ten.
It's still a well known and accepted fact that on the whole, tall people are more highly regarded than shorter people. Even now, there is a little bit of inherent positive discrimination towards those who are tall. We like our heroes to be tall and strong.
Back round 900 BCE, when it was clear that Saul, the first king of Israel was falling away from God and going very wrong, Samuel the elderly prophet was told by God to anoint one of the sons of Jesse. Accordingly, all the boys were paraded before him. Samuel looked at the eldest, Eliab, and was delighted with what he saw, for Eliab was tall and strong and handsome, true hero material.
But God said, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Subsequently God made known his choice of David, the shepherd boy who was still only a child, although it's interesting that David's physical characteristics are especially mentioned, as we're specifically told that he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.
God may look upon the heart, but it's very difficult for us human beings to do likewise. We're often swayed by first impressions and those first impressions often have to do with physical appearance or deeply held prejudices which we rarely even acknowledge as prejudices.
For instance, many of us church people would be horrified by the thought of mingling with prostitutes. If we mingle with prostitutes at all, it is usually in order to help them, not because we wish to be part of their social world. There may be many lovely people who are prostitutes, but most of us would never discover that because we don't get past appearances.
There is a growing obsession with physical appearance in our Western world. The beauty industry is thriving and billions of pounds are now being spent on cosmetic surgery. And people who have had cosmetic surgery in order to alter their appearance, usually report that it has changed their lives. They're generally much happier afterwards because of the way they're now treated by the rest of society.
There is still deep seated racial prejudice in many of our institutions and in society at large, despite the government's efforts to instill equality by law.
God looks on the heart, but we don't.
How can we humans combat our instinctive reaction to appearance, be it a positive or a negative reaction? Perhaps not just by changing the law of the land (although that undoubtedly helps) but by growing closer to God, so that gradually God's ways become our ways and God's thoughts become our thoughts.
We can do that by constantly and continually spending time in God's company, giving God space to speak to us in some way, opening our hearts and minds to listen to God and responding to God's promptings.
David the boy king did exactly that and he became the greatest king Israel had ever known. When we give time and space to God, we too become great, whatever our outward appearance.
