Too Much Emphasis on Outward Appearances?

Have you ever considered how much time, energy – and money – we expend working on and worrying about outward appearances?  

The global beauty and personal care industry generated more than $640 billion in 2024 and is projected to exceed more than $675 billion this year! That is a lot of makeup, mascara, eye shadow, lipstick, hair color, shampoo, conditioner and other products. For some, it’s just an effort to enhance natural attributes. But for others, it’s more like trying to make the proverbial silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

 

Digital photography and specialized software now make it possible to delete flaws and blemishes from photos. Don’t like those freckles or that beauty mark, scar or wrinkle? No problem. With a few clicks or swipes, we can make them disappear from the photographs. (But they’ll still be on your real person.)

 

We have red carpets where the famous and infamous parade wearing costly gowns and tuxedos; A-list folks trying to look better than their fellow celebrities. And even though their popularity has waned, beauty contests are still being staged, ranging from Little Miss Podunk to Miss America and Miss Universe. Even though we’re told, ‘Beauty is only skin deep.’ 

 

Each of these, along with many other pursuits, are strategically geared toward our fascination with outward appearances: Seeking to impress people with how we look externally.

 

But just as we can’t always judge a book by its cover, what we see of someone on the outside isn’t always what we’d find on the inside – if we ever get close enough to get better acquainted.

 

As a journalist, including serving as editor of newspapers and a magazine for more than 27 years, I interviewed hundreds of famous people, folks you’d immediately recognize by name. In many cases, even as a professional, I couldn’t wait to meet them and get to know what they were really like.

 

Some proved to be an absolute delight, the ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of individuals. Others, however, not so much. There were some who, from the introductory handshake, had an air of “How nice it is for you to meet me.” Ever encounter people like that?

 

Often the personas we see on TV, the movie screen, or standing behind a podium don’t line up with who someone really is. That can be disappointing, but the outward appearance in many cases is all we have to go on. Sometimes when we’re thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to get to know that person and spend time with him (or her)?’ it’s a good thing we can’t. Why pop our bubbles?

 

Interestingly, in the Scriptures the Lord repeatedly shows He has no illusions about outward appearances. Addressing the Pharisees and the religious leaders, Jesus repeatedly rebuked them for their outward hypocrisy. “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside also?’” (Luke 11:39-40).

 

Another time Jesus was speaking to crowds of people and His disciples, denouncing superficial religious practices. Among His statements was this observation: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:27-28).

 

Clearly Jesus was more concerned about the truth rather than trying to win friends and influence people.

 

Well, if God puts little stock in outward appearances, no matter how good we look, what is important to Him? We find the answer in the account of how He chose shepherd boy David to succeed King Saul, another sad example of someone who looked better on the outside than the inside.

 

The Lord had sent the prophet Samuel to the home of Jesse to find the one He had chosen to become king. After reviewing each of Jesse’s sons – or so it seemed – and having God say, “No, not him…. Not him…,” Samuel learned there was one more son: David, out in the fields tending the sheep. In those days, if shepherds didn’t rank at the bottom of the totem pole, they didn't have far to fall.

 

Nevertheless, Samuel instructed Jesse to send for his youngest son. Because God had told 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).

 

This isn’t the only time the Scriptures tell us the priority God places on the inner person. Proverbs 16:2 tells us, “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” Similarly, we see in Proverbs 21:2 that “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.” If only we could do this with politicians, right?

 

Society places special emphasis on women’s outward beauty, including annual selections of ‘the world’s most beautiful woman.’ But it’s clear the Lord uses very different criteria. In a passage about marriage, the apostle Peter wrote to wives, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and find clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:3-4).

 

This doesn’t mean He wants us to present ourselves to the outside world as slobs, that we should consciously neglect our outward appearance. But if our desire is to serve Christ and represent Him to folks we encounter each day, it’s our inner person – integrity, compassion, sincerity, and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) – that He wants to shine brightest.

‘Clothes Make the Man!’ Well, Yes and No

The adage tells us, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s true. A poorly designed cover doesn’t necessarily mean the contents of the book aren’t worthwhile. Likewise, even the most captivating cover doesn’t guarantee the pages inside are worth turning. But in today’s visually oriented world, a book’s cover can be a major factor in a potential reader’s decision about whether to pick up the book and consider what’s inside. 

 

I remember when USA Today debuted in the early 1980s, with its emphasis on strong photos and colorful graphics. It set newspaper page designers scrambling. The only way newspapers could successfully compete with TV and computer imagery was to create pages that were visually compelling as well as content-rich.

 

What it boils down to is our human tendency to make snap judgments based on outward appearance. We do this with cars, houses, appliances, magazines, and just about anything else– especially people. 

It might not be fair – or accurate – to formulate initial conclusions about folks based on their external appearances, but we do it all the time. If someone were to walk up to us with ketchup stains or chocolate smeared on his or her outfit, we’d probably conclude this was not a fastidious dresser. Their clothes might taste good, but it wouldn’t appear they dress in good taste.

 

Remember the TV detective of years ago, “Columbo”? He used outward appearance misconceptions to his advantage. He’d show up in a rumbled trench coat, stumbling and muttering along like he couldn’t find his way out of a three-foot tunnel. Yet by the end of the show, he would have deftly solved the mystery to the amazement of all.

 

When I was entering the business world, I encountered the book, Dress for Success. Its simple thesis was that to make a favorable impression, we should take pains to wear appropriate attire. I was reminded of this recently when a friend, a clothier, wrote, “Be careful what you wear, because it tells the world what you think of yourself.”

 

This is hardly a new concept. In William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Polonius tells his son Laertes to dress well because, “apparel oft proclaims the man.” In that day, clothing would reveal an individual’s rank and status in society. American writer and humorist Mark Twain had his own take on this observation. He said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” 

 

But long before Twain, or even Shakespeare, this annoying tendency to judge people based on the first impressions they make was well-established. When the prophet Samuel was directed to go to Jesse and identify from among his sons the successor to Israel’s King Saul, the prophet thought several of the young men fit the bill – based on their physical traits. But God saw things differently.

 

Speaking about one of the sons, He told 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).

 

Since God hadn’t chosen any of the sons Jesse presented, the perplexed prophet asked, “Are these all the boys?” To which Jesse replied, “The youngest is still left, but behold, he is tending the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11). This “youngest” was David, then a humble shepherd boy. He might have been voted “least likely to become a king” in Shepherd Today magazine. Nevertheless, Samuel insisted that Jesse send for David to join them.

 

When David arrived, Samuel saw that he was “glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features” (1 Samuel 16:12). Certainly not bad on the eyes, but this wasn’t what God wanted. Upon deciding Saul was unfit to serve as king over Israel, the Lord had declared He was seeking “a man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

 

Speaking to religious leaders in Pisidian Antioch, the apostle Paul confirmed this. “After removing Saul, [God] made David their king. He testified concerning him, ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22). 

 

What does this say to us today? It’s not saying that the way we appear outwardly is insignificant. However, what the Lord is seeking most of all is men and women, boys and girls, whose hearts are aligned with His own, who desire to serve Him, obey His commands, and carry out His will.

 

In effect, this is a double-edged sword for us. We’re not to be quick to judge others based on what we observe outwardly. We should ask God to enable us to discern what’s happening on the inside – their heart and motivations. 

At the same time, as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20), we shouldn’t let our own outward appearances become stumbling blocks for others by causing negative first impressions. As people of “the Book,” we want to ensure that our “covers” don’t turn folks away from checking out what’s inside.  

From God’s Perspective, Ordinary is Good Enough

Fans of collegiate athletics are familiar with the term “blue chip.” It describes athletes who, according to various recruiting service, are the best of the best in sports like football, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey and soccer. Any coach worth his or her salt knows one factor in succeeding on the field, court or rink is having enough blue-chip players on the team.

 

That kind of mindset carries over to other areas of life. In the corporate world, businesses delight in hiring prospects who possess MBAs, and law firms tend to favor graduates of prestigious universities and law schools. Performers on Broadway often have received their training at name-brand acting and music schools. Everyone seems to want folks with “blue-chip” credentials, the “crème de la crème” in their respective disciplines.

 

Many times, we even see this practice in the Church as well. Men and women holding prominence in the community are selected to serve as church leaders; hefty donors are asked to serve on boards of elders and deacons. The reasoning goes, “If they’re successful in the ‘secular’ world, surely they’ll be successful in handling major church responsibilities.”

 

God does not focus on
the outward appearance,
but on the heart.

What I find particularly interesting about this is that when God “recruits” people to His “team,” He utilizes entirely different criteria. As the refrain from an old song observed, “Just ordinary people…God uses ordinary people.” That is, ordinary people whose hearts are inclined toward Him.

Proof can be found throughout the Bible. Take Noah for example. In the account about God telling him to build an ark prior the Flood, we don’t read anything about his accomplishments. But we do learn about Noah’s character”: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and walked with God…. Noah did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:9,22). 

 

The lineage of the people of Israel – and all Jews today – traces back to a man named Abram, later renamed Abraham. Apparently, he and his family were successful in business, since Genesis 12:5 mentions “all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired.” However, most significant is that we’re told, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

 

As we continue through Genesis, we find Jacob, a schemer and conniver who later received the name Israel, becoming the namesake for the Israelites. There’s Joseph, a young man who seemingly alienated his brothers with the attitude, “Dad (Jacob) loves me best.” Nevertheless, he became God’s instrument to preserve the people of Israel in Egypt during a time of extreme famine.

 

Moses, despite killing an Egyptian, was called by God to deliver the Israelites from 400 years of bondage. This is even though, when he first encountered the Lord at a burning bush and received his assignment, Moses resisted several times, arguing, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).

 

Rahab, who protected the Israelite spies as they scoped out the city of Jericho, was a prostitute. Hardly a member of high society in her community, yet she is among those cited for special recognition in the Hebrews 11 “hall of faith.”

 

Long before David became king of Israel, he was a lowly shepherd boy, regarded as so insignificant that when God sent Samuel to choose a successor to King Saul from the sons of Jesse, David wasn’t even invited to the lineup of brothers. There are the Old Testament prophets, for the most part an unlikely bunch – not included in the “Who’s Who” of Jewish society, but rather firmly entrenched in “Who’s he?” 

 

But when it came to ordinary people, the most striking examples were the ragtag group Jesus Christ called to be His closest followers: fishermen like Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James and John, a despised tax collector named Matthew, the-ever skeptical Thomas, Judas Iscariot who would become Jesus’ betrayer, and several others who lacked notable credentials from Jewish society. 

 

The apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, was an esteemed Pharisee, but became widely despised once his zeal was redirected to preaching the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Most likely, none of these was ever voted “most likely to succeed” by their peers. In the eyes of most of their contemporaries – but not God – they were just ordinary people. But to Him, that made them ideally suited to become “instruments of righteousness,” as described in Romans 6:13. 

 

If you’re wondering, “So what?” the answer’s a simple one. If God could use people like those singled out above, He can use you – and me. We each have unique talents, gifts and interests, but when it comes to selecting people to do His work, the Lord isn’t so much concerned about our capabilities as He is our character.

 

This is one reason “ordinary” David, and not his outwardly more impressive brothers, was anointed to become Israel’s second king. As God told the prophet Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

 

Jesus referred to this truth when He told His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will remain” (John 15:5,16).

So, if you ever think you’d love to serve the Lord and be used by Him, but don’t think you have the right qualifications, good news: That means in God’s sight, you’re qualified. You’re His kind of blue-chipper! 

One of My Greatest Lessons in Race Relations

The summer after my freshman year in college, I had a job working on the night crew of a Shop-Rite supermarket. This was in the days before grocery stores were open 24/7. I and a half-dozen other guys, most of us college-aged, would clock in at 10 p.m. and perform a variety of assignments before leaving work at 7 the following morning.

 

Our night crew manager was a fellow named Joe. Instead of spending most of his time in the manager’s offices, as bosses on the day shift typically did, Joe would alternate working alongside each of us on the night crew. He’d help one guy in stocking the shelves and organizing his assigned aisle one night, and the next he’d work with me or one of the other guys. 

 

No matter what the job was – unloading new product off the trucks, “facing” the shelves to make them presentable to shoppers the next morning, even sweeping and mopping the floor – Joe would be right there, working with us instead of retreating to the office eating snack cakes and listening to the radio, as other managers preferred to do.

Did I mention that Joe was black? (The term, African-American, wasn’t commonly used back then.)

 

One evening Joe was working with me in my aisle, opening boxes of canned goods I’d brought on a cart from the back room, pricing and putting them on the shelves right along with me. Out of curiosity, I asked why he spent much of each evening working with us – mere grocery clerks – rather than giving us our orders for the night and then just relaxing, acting “managerial.”

 

Joe’s answer was profound. He replied, “I’m never going to ask anyone to do anything that I wouldn’t be willing to do.” I don’t recall asking for further explanation, but his actions demonstrated he wasn’t just offering a platitude. Joe meant what he said.

 

I’ve never forgotten that, and in fact have strived to live up to that philosophy myself, never regarding any job that needed to be done as one that was beneath me. But that brief exchange involved more than the expression of a work ethic. 

 

Joe indirectly was also teaching that we were equals. He didn’t treat anyone on the night crew as someone of lesser standing – and the subject of race never came up. We were fellow employees of Shop-Rite, and he saw his role as one of helping each of us to do the best job we possibly could. To my recollection, I never thought of Joe as “that black guy I work for.” To me, he was a role model, a man I greatly admired.

 

I wish I’d bothered to question him further about his willingness to do everything and anything he asked others to do – whether it was a perspective someone else had taught him, a spiritual conviction or something else. But in the Scriptures we find this principle of equality clearly expressed. Speaking of everyone who belongs to the body of Jesus Christ, Galatians 3:28 states, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

 

Over the years the Lord has brought a number of African-American men into my life whose friendship I have valued greatly. Forces in our society seem intent on dividing us, concentrating on external racial differences rather than the commonality we share as fellow strugglers in this epic drama called life. I’ve found that if we invest the time and energy to get to know one another, we’ll discover that skin color – the melanin or lack of it – isn’t nearly as significant as we’re led to believe.

 

We do have a tendency to judge by externals – how people dress, the kinds of cars they drive, the houses they live in, the job titles they hold, and the hues of their skin. But as followers of Christ, we’re called to disregard such differences. 

 

When the Lord was leading the prophet Samuel to identify a man to succeed Saul as king of the Israelites, He dismissed several sons of Jesse who would have passed the “look test.” Instead, God waited for David, a lowly shepherd boy, to arrive and become His anointed. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height…. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). 

The answers to racial tensions that have existed throughout human history and likely will continue into the future, ultimately are not found in government or legislation or a reinterpretation of history. It’s in putting in the necessary time and effort to truly get to know one another, learning to do as God does – not looking at the outward appearance, but looking at the heart. 

Covering Up What’s On the Inside

Every year when Halloween rolls around, I have mixed feelings. The prevalent focus on things like witches, zombies and vampires seems disturbing, but not surprising, given our society’s fascination with evil, the paranormal and the occult. However, what’s wrong with seeing little girls dressed up in sky-blue gowns like Elsa in “Frozen,” or little boys disguised like Jack Sparrow of “Pirates of the Caribbean”?

Shops spring up in vacant retail spaces, marketing all manner of festive and frightening attire. Some adults also enjoy costume parties, donning masks and sometimes complete costumes to disguise their identities. All in good fun for the most part, although TV murder mysteries this time of year often take place at adult Halloween parties. So, beware!

But this idea of hiding our true identities is hardly new. Dramas dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans featured masked characters scheming to hoodwink protagonists and antagonists. Shakespeare did the same, although customs of the day required that males portray even females. In those days, apparently, a woman’s place was in the audience.

But even for the many of us who have no performing aspirations, who will never be welcomed into any thespian society, we know all about acting. For instance, engaging in a heated argument on the way to church but, the moment we exit our car in the parking lot, donning Sunday smiles and acting as if nary a contrary word was uttered.

We adopt a public persona. It might be on the job, speaking from a podium, or campaigning for office, seeking to delude those seeing and hearing us from knowing who we truly are and how we truly behave in private. And we didn’t even attend Miss Polly’s School for Acting!

There is one person, however, who can’t be deceived by our outward posturing. In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read, “For God sees not as man sees. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We don’t have X-ray vision and can’t discern someone’s inner character, so we’re easily duped, especially by those adept at presenting personal facades. God doesn’t have that problem. Just as He expertly saw which of Jesse’s sons – David – was fit to serve as king of Israel, He’s equally skilled at perceiving our inner thoughts and motives.

The Lord is right on the spot in diagnosing our “heart problems,” As Proverbs 21:2 declares, “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.” And Proverbs 16:2 concurs, “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” If only we had such ability.

As the verses above assert, we not only mask our inner selves from others, but there are also times when we manage to self-delude. We can convince ourselves that we’re right, that our motives couldn’t be more pure. Even when they’re not. So it’s important to perform a self-heart check to make certain we’re not hiding inside costumes year-round, not just at Halloween time.

How do we do that? The Scriptures serve as a great mirror for reflecting our inner selves. Hebrews 4:12 explains, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” How do our lives stack up against what we see in God’s Word?

As James 1:22-24 admonishes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” 

Halloween can be a fun, harmless, once-a-year diversion. But God desires for us to devote our lives of service to Him and His people as we truly are, sans “costume.” A term that describes this is integrity. It seems to have largely fallen out of favor in our society, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. Proverbs 11:3 asserts, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

In other words, if we’re diligent to be genuine, the people we present ourselves to be, we need not fear being exposed as pretending to be someone we’re not. As 2 Corinthians 4:16 promises all who faithfully follow Christ, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” It’s what’s inside that counts most.

Should It Be Eye-to-Eye, Or Ear-to-Ear?

Recently I wrote about how the Bible uses the human body as a metaphor for the body of Christ, the Church. How all parts are equally important, even if we give some more appreciation than others. This prompted me to take a closer look – literally – to some specific parts: eyes and ears.

Eyes tend to get more notice. Physicians say that even for newborn infants, as soon as they are able to focus, the first thing they seek is another set of eyes to lock onto. To enhance outward appearances, women – and some men, I guess – invest time and money in eye makeup. There’s not nearly as much effort to make ears look good, except for earrings.

In debates or disagreements, we talk about being able to see eye-to-eye. Or at least that used to be the case. These days it seems few people care to work toward agreement and mutual understanding. Which is sad. Maybe what’s needed is not striving for eye-to-eye accord, but “ear-to-ear resuscitation.”

Our eyes enable us to assess outward appearances, which we usually use for judging. Or, alas, for prejudging. In other words, “prejudice.” When using our ears to hear what people are saying – if we’re willing to really listen – we gain a much better sense of what’s going on inside, within their hearts.

One of my favorite verses in the Scriptures tells us, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). We all have the capacity to make ourselves look presentable, but what’s in our hearts isn’t as easily discerned. God is uniquely equipped for doing that.

This is why I think we need to work harder at communicating ear-to-ear. Proverbs 18:13 says, “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.” 

We need look no further than the Lord Jesus, who even as a youth understood the importance of “ear-to-ear” communications. When He was 12 years old, His parents had taken Him to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festival. When time came for returning home, Jesus’ earthly parents presumed He was with relatives or friends. However, after a day of travel went by and they had not seen Him, Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem to find Him. 

Luke 2:46 states, “After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.“ After being a respectful, attentive listener, it says of Jesus, “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47).

I’ll never forget the day I met my friend, Gary. A mutual friend had connected us, telling me Gary had been trying to write a book about his life without much success. He needed a professional writer to help in shaping his notes into publishable form. 

When I arrived at the local coffee shop where we had agreed to meet, Gary was wearing overalls and looked more like a farmer than the successful businessman I understood him to be. His choice of attire was purposeful – it was Gary’s litmus test for determining whether I was the kind of person he wanted to work with. 

I’d like to think I’m “no respecter of persons,” as the King James Version translates Acts 10:34, so I gave no significance to his “un-businesslike” outfit. We had a great conversation and as a result, spent a number of months together shaping Gary’s rough manuscript into a heartfelt book he has used for developing a non-profit that’s having a powerful impact on young people in our area.

Because we both were willing to hear ear-to-ear, we found we also could see eye-to-eye. Maybe it’s time we all quit overworking our eyes and gave our ears more of an opportunity to exchange ideas in productive ways that can strengthen relationships, rather than destroy them.

Considering Covers and Contents

One of the sayings I often heard growing up was, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I was reminded of this recently while watching a remake/sequel to the film classic, “Mary Poppins.” The main character, Ms. Poppins, still delightful in every way, told the offspring of the kids in the original movie, “A cover is nice, but the cover is not the book.”

To me this serves as a wise warning to not rely on first impressions and outward appearances, favorable or not. Being the author, co-author and editor of numerous books, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of designing a strong, appealing cover for a book. Living in a highly visual world, we can all understand that a book might have great content, but if the cover doesn’t capture us as potential readers, it most likely won’t merit our time or financial investment.

On the other hand, I’ve seen books with covers so graphically compelling that I couldn’t resist picking them up. However, after reading a page or two, I couldn’t wait to put them down.

The problem with spotlights:
They don't reveal what's on the inside.

The same holds true of people. We’re probably all familiar with TV shows like “The Voice.” Some of their most memorable moments have come when someone whose outward appearance was nothing to write home about suddenly opened his or her mouth and wonderful melodies burst forth. Without intending to sound disparaging, discovering these hidden talents was akin to finding a diamond necklace or bar of gold in the kitchen trash can.

We see the opposite as well. The media takes great pleasure in hyping people with very attractive exteriors, whether it’s an entertainer, business person, athlete or politician. They give these pretty, personable individuals exorbitant amounts of coverage, hanging attentively on their every pronouncement, as if their outward appearances lent credibility to what they have to say. The problem is, many of these celebrated personages are superficial, beauty-is-only-skin-deep types. All icing and no cake. As Mary Poppins observed, a cover is nice – but the cover is not the book.

In the Scriptures we see the classic example of this in the opening chapter of 1 Samuel, after God has lost patience with excuse-making, buck-passing King Saul and determines Israel needs a new leader. The Lord directs Samuel the prophet to go to Bethlehem so He can identify Saul’s successor from among the sons of Jesse.

Almost immediately the prophet sets his eyes on Eliab, a very striking, imposing figure of a man. Samuel thinks, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands before the Lord” (1 Samuel 16:7). We’d probably have reached the same conclusion. But God essentially responds, “Not so fast, Sammy. Let’s not go judging books by their covers. He’s not the guy. I’ve got someone else in mind.”

His actual words were, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Mary Poppins couldn’t have said it better herself.

One by one, Samuel examines the sons Jesse has assembled, but each time God declares, “Nope, not him. Not that one either. Uh-uh, him neither.” After checking out each of the seven sons Jesse had brought, the exasperated prophet asks the father, “Are these all the sons you have?” I think the original Hebrew reads, “Is this it? These are all you’ve got? That’s the best you can come up with?”

Then Jesse admits there is one other son, David, but points out, “he is tending the sheep.” As if to say, “You want him? The young one that smells like stinky sheep, sweat and stuff?” But Samuel insists, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives” (1 Samuel 16:11).

So Jesse summons David. When he arrives, the passage tells us Samuel sees a fellow who is “ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.” Not a bad-looking guy at all, but most important, he is definitely the one God has chosen to succeed Saul as king. “Rise and anoint him; he is the one,” God tells Samuel.

If you’re familiar with the story of David, you already know he turned out to be a pretty good king. Yes, he committed some grievous sins. He committed adultery with another man’s wife, then to cover up his wrongdoing, arranged to have the hapless husband to die in battle. Murder, secondhand. But he was also described as “a man with [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:22). That didn’t mean he always did right, but when he did wrong, David was willing to own up to it, unlike his predecessor, Saul. His heart was right.

The Scriptures speak about this in many places, such as Proverbs 21:2, where we’re told, “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.”  Another verse, Proverbs 16:2, makes a similar observation: “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives (the heart) are weighed by the Lord.”

These should caution us whenever the spotlight shines brightly on the latest and brightest celebrity or star on the political scene. Spotlights are good for displaying what’s on the outside, but from God’s perspective – and it should be from ours – what’s inside is what counts. Remember, covers are nice, but a cover is not the book.

Worth Taking Another Look

We all enjoy scenes of natural beauty, but with people sometimes
the beauty must be found within.

In my younger days, I loved going to the movies. They transported me to places I’d never been, sometimes worlds I could have never imagined. They were fun, entertaining, and left me with happy memories. Today, not so much.

Most films these days seem saturated with violence, random sex, and a oft-subtle but clearly amoral worldview, one that stands for anything but godly values and principles presented in the Scriptures. I’ve sworn off watching award shows that ooze with an unwarranted sense of elitism, self-aggrandizement, and narcissism. But occasionally, whether by accident or intent, the industry manages to produce a film I can applaud.

Recently I wrote about one of them, “Same Kind of Different as Me.” The other day I saw another, “Wonder,” starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and a little fellow named Jacob Tremblay. It’s about Auggie Pullman, a boy afflicted with a rare facial deformity. After multiple surgeries, and years of being homeschooled by his mother, it’s time for Auggie to enter a public school to continue his education.

Predictably, his fellow students are initially repelled by his appearance. The young guy, already too aware that he’s “different,” is forced to deal with daily emotional trauma. He even suffers betrayal by another boy who initially befriended him.

Spoiler alert: By movie’s end, everyone learns to look past Auggie’s external appearance and discover his intrinsic, inner beauty. If you don’t like “happily ever after” films, then be sure to pass on this one.

“Wonder” doesn’t carry an overtly Christian message, but does affirm some foundational biblical values. As someone has said, all truth is God’s truth – and the truths in this film trace back to the Scriptures.

It reminded me of the prophet Samuel seeking to identify the successor to Israel’s King Saul, who had proved himself quite unworthy of leading God’s chosen people. The Lord directed Samuel to Jesse, who had several sons that seemed likely candidates. However, one by one each was eliminated until the only one that remained was the humble shepherd boy, David.

When asked why He had passed over more robust, more physically impressive options, God replied, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

That’s not the only place that principle is mentioned. For instance, Proverbs 21:2 tells us, “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.” Our intentions and motives matter.

In our humanness, we tend to become swayed by outward appearances. If someone isn’t well-groomed, or appears grossly overweight, or seems hampered by some disability, we’re tempted to lower our assessment of them. The worlds of TV and film have accentuated these attitudes, promoting stars who are mostly beautiful, slim and curvy if they’re female, rugged and well-toned if they’re male. We’ve all heard the adage, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” but we’re obviously not convinced.

God has very different criteria, however, according to the Scriptures. In fact, the Old Testament offers this amazing description of the coming Messiah: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:2-3).

It astounds me – especially during this Christmas season when we anticipate celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, when God “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14) – that He chose not to come as a Robert Redford, Charlton Heston, or Denzel Washington-type. Instead, even though we have no photos or portraits from the time to prove it, Jesus apparently wasn’t all that much to look at.

But that’s consistent with what God emphasizes in the Scriptures. He puts little stock in outward appearances. Instead, He considers the inner person, and that’s where His transformational work takes place in our lives.

In 1 Peter 3:3-4 we read of what the Lord desires of wives, although the principle can be applied to men and women alike. “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

As the film “Wonder” shows us, we err when we put too much emphasis on a person’s eye appeal and fail to search for the individual’s inner beauty. Because if we’re willing to invest the time and effort to take a closer look, we might find a work of art nestled inside a rather ordinary exterior.