But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." – 1 Samuel 16:7

Today's Scripture Reading (April 10, 2022): 1 Samuel 16

Several years ago, a member of a church elder board (not mine) came to me with a problem. The church was without a pastor, and they had been examining many prospects that might be able to fill the position. This board member believed they had stumbled on a candidate who seemed to check all of their boxes with one minor problem. The prospect was being criticized by some people within the church because of how he looked. I must have looked quizzically at my interrogator because he sheepishly replied, "Well, he looks like you."

And with those words, I understood the problem. Body-shaming has become a growth industry, even within the church's walls. We judge by what we see, and sometimes what we see outweighs even the person's character. I love Bruce Reyes-Chow's comment in his book "In Defense of Kindness."

"At the end of the day, dipping into the attack well of body-shaming, racism, misogyny, and ableism is just lazy. When people resort to these kinds of tactics, I simply think that they have lost the ability to debate the merits and content of a position. Instead, they want to play to the bot-fueled, troll-fed, worst of who humans can be" (Bruce Reyes-Chow, In Defense of Kindness: Why it Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World.)

There is always something deeper inside of us than what is seen outside. And even if the exterior looks good, that doesn't necessarily mean that what is inside is worth getting to know.

Samuel has been sent on a search for Israel's second King. And the first person that he comes across is Eliab, the eldest son of Jesse of Bethlehem. Eliab is a good-looking boy, tall and strong; Eliab looked like a King to Samuel. But that had been the mistake that Israel had made with Saul. He, too, looked like a King. But what was inside of him disqualified him from leading the nation.

We really have no idea what it was that disqualified Eliab in the sight of God. Some have argued that it was his temper; that assumption is based on Eliab's argument with David in the story of David and Goliath.

When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle" (1 Samuel 17:28).

But God saw something in Eliab and all of the rest of David's older brothers that disqualified them in the sight of God from serving Israel as King. God needed Samuel to understand that he saw more than Samuel could see. And if they were going to get this right, Samuel needed to look to God and rely on what God saw instead of what Samuel could see.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 17