July 25 – A Matter of the Heart (1 Samuel 16:1-13)

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”(1 Samuel 16:7)

IN WORD:
David had 7 brothers. He was the youngest, and all the others looked stronger and abler than he did. Samuel the priest was a godly man, but he looked at the 8 sons of Jesse as everyone else did — with human eyes. He anticipated the anointing of God with earthly measurements, a mistake no one can afford to make but that everyone does. Samuel learned a divine principle on that day of selecting the new king: He learned that God’s anointing doesn’t follow human standards. It is held secret in His unfathomable wisdom until He is ready to reveal it.
Think of what that means in our churches. We define the anointing of God on a preacher by how well he relates to people and preaches a sermon. We define the anointing of God on a ministry by how impressive it has made its reputation. We define the anointing of God on each other by how we dress, how we part our hair, how socially smooth we are, or how talented and knowledgeable we appear to be. And all the while, the wisdom of God is peering into each person’s heart, looking beyond talent, appearance, gifts, intellect, resources, and everything else. Character is the key. Obedience and submission are the cornerstones of His anointing. He will bless people we least expect Him to bless and shelve people we least expect Him to shelve, all because He’s looking in places we can barely see.

IN DEED:
That doesn’t mean that gifts, talents, intellect, resources, and even appearance are irrelevant. It simply means that not one of those things can fulfill the will of God in a person if the heart is not right.
That should say 2 profound things to us: (1) We can’t judge people by the standards we normally use, and (2) we can’t be disciples based on the gifts we think He has given us. In both cases, popular opinion is irrelevant. The piercing eye of God is not fooled. The quality of anyone’s discipleship, at all times, depends on the condition of the heart.

“The first and great work of a Christian is about his heart.”
-Jonathan Edwards-