But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. – 1 Samuel 16: 7

When Saul proved himself unworthy and unfit to be the King of Israel, God gave the Prophet Samuel instructions to go to Bethlehem to anoint a new king.

And he was to choose one of Jesse’s sons.

Now when Samuel arrived at Jesse’s house, he took one look at Eliab and thought to himself, My job is done here. This has got to be the guy I’m looking for.

But he was wrong.

Eliab may have been tall, lean, and handsome. But he wasn’t King material.

Jesse presented all seven of the sons that were in his house to Samuel, but none of them were up to par.

It was only after Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons that Jesse finally acknowledged that he had one more outside tending the sheep!

David.

It blows my mind that neither Jesse nor any of his sons thought to tell Samuel that David existed (rude).

But despite his age, stature, and other physical attributes, David was “the chosen one.”

So we must be careful not to judge people based on the way they look, their demeanor, or their mannerisms.

Because we don’t know who they are, what they’ve been through, or what kind of heart they have.

We must view every person we come into contact with as a precious child of God just like we are.

We shouldn’t judge someone because their clothes don’t meet our standard of respect when that may be all they have to wear.

We shouldn’t judge someone because of the way they talk when we would talk the same way if we were born into their family.

We shouldn’t use race, gender, class, culture, or any other marker to determine who we will give love and respect to or who will be our friends.

We have to love people for who they are, just the way we want to be loved.

Because we don’t know just who God will use to bless us.

And we have to be open-minded so that we can be a blessing to others.

Be blessed,

Alexia