1 Samuel 15-17 – April 12

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 This verse stood out to me in a big way. Can I learn to be so much like my Father, that I too will consider only the possibilities of the heart of a man beyond physical appearance? Even in the most innocent way, I cannot allow myself to make preconceived ideas about someone because of outward appearance.

 Then I thought, “Does outward appearance include what people say?” “Are we able to look at the heart of a man by listening to his words?”

 Proverbs 16:23 The heart of the wise instructs his mouth And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

Matthew 15:18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

Surprisingly, yes, it appears that we can see the heart through accompanying words. Of course, I am not condoning judgment by Christian (Matthew 7:1), but I am learning two lessons from this.

1 - Learn and practice seeing people through the eyes of God only.

2 – Examine my own heart by listening to my own mouth.