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

God had rejected Saul as king because of his disobedience and rebellion. Now, God has sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse, for one of Jesse’s eight sons will be the next king.

When Samuel arrived and saw Eliab, the oldest, he assumed that Eliab must be God’s choice. Apparently, Eliab was physically impressive. But Eliab was not God’s choice, and God admonishes Samuel for a serious flaw in the way he viewed people, a flaw that we continually repeat today. “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).

We look at outward appearance. God looks at inward character. We look at external traits. God looks at internal traits. We look at the body. God looks at the heart. We look at superficial things. God looks at substantial things, things that matter.

We can be so enamored by the body. By beauty and muscles, by fitness and thinness. By hair and tans, by athletic prowess and physical gifts. We give adulation to sports celebrities, while largely ignoring the unsung heroes around the world who delight the heart of God.

We are so shallow. We who are followers of Jesus Christ, who claim to live for the next world and not for this world, who serve the one who was nailed naked to a bloody cross, should know better. It is high time that we start seeing people as God sees them. We can be worldly (like the world) in our perspective, or we can be godly (like God) in our perspective. It is time for God’s people to be godly!

God chose David, the runt of the family. Why? Not because of David’s appearance but because David had a heart for God. As Samuel had earlier said to Saul: “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:14).

That’s what God is looking for: men and women with hearts that beat for God.