Choosing People

Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13Focus verse 1 Samuel 16:7 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 man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Samuel is sent to the family of Jesse to anoint one of his sons to be the king of Israel. Jesse presents seven of his sons but none of them is anointed by God to be the king. Maybe Jesse thought the king would anointed be based on height, masculine body, handsome appearance, age factor, voice projection, strength etc but all these failed. God tells Samuel that, “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.” Proverbs 30:31 – Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Jesus was friends with the rejected and did not love partially but gave himself for all people regardless how they appear or what they are in the society. In fact he even advised believers on who to put in their guest list whenever they have celebrations, Luke 14:13-14 “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind; and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

I will admit that this is one area where I have to repent and do it the right way. Did you ever travel in a public bus where seats are free for you to choose which one to sit? In Kenya we do. In fact we even have the motorbike transportation where many motorbike riders commonly known as “boda-boda” all park together and it is upon the customer to chose who to ride them. Or say you walk into a restaurant and find two ladies serving waitress, one looking more beautiful than the other and they all come to take orders from.  Therefore, how do you choose who to take your orders, or who to ride you on a motorbike or who to sit closer to in a public bus or public function? If you will be honest with me you will accept that the hook of choosing by appearance has caught you severely. In addition we have many relationships that were started based on physical appearance without considering what is in the heart.

Let us not be guided by what our physical eyes are telling us. Remember there are also wolves in sheep clothes!  Let us consider the heart of people.

Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Makira Baptist Church - Mfangano