"Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
There have been countless times over the 3.5+ decades of my life where I have judged someone because of how they looked. I'm ashamed to write this, but it's true. Appearance may share some relevance with how a person acts, and this may contribute to how stereotypes are formed. The beautiful are arrogant; the unattractive have self-esteem issues and are less sure of themselves. Or the opposite may occur; we overcompensate for our insecurities and give the front of being something we're not. How many friendships and heart-moments have I passed up because of my unfair prejudgments?
I remember a boy from my second grade class. He was tall for his age, and had long 70's hair over his shirt collar and bangs over his eyes. Freckles too. He was a quiet boy, reserved, intelligent, never said much and didn't have friends. I know now that he must have had some medical condition that caused his body to expel a particular scent. It wasn't that he didn't groom or bathe; the scent wasn't foul. But it was strong enough to cause a bunch of 8 and 9 year-olds to poke fun and humiliate him. He intrigued me because he never fought back. To me he was a gentle giant. Memories come to mind of having to stand in single file in the hallway and no one wanting to stand next to him. I sometimes wonder what became of him, if the ridicule that he experienced day after day broke him or made him stronger. I wonder if he ever found medical treatment to either mask his scent or eliminate it completely. I regret that I didn't try to make friends with him; I would have learned so much from his patience and humble demeanor.
Aren't we blessed to know that God doesn't put any weight on our physical traits? It's not important to him at all. Throughout the Bible and history after that, He has used the underdog to champion His redemption plan. The unattractive, the outcast, the ones who struggle financially, the unintelligent, the poor in health. And He transforms these individuals to the point where it's so obvious that it's Him working through them. There's no question about it, God worked a miracle and through this person everyone is blessed. He uses beautiful, intelligent, wealthy people too, don't get me wrong. Esther, Nicodemus, Paul all come to mind. But the common factor is that God saw their heart and knew they were malleable. I am so thankful that God doesn't pay attention to my appearance. He goes straight to my heart. And hopefully He sees potential there, enough to say, "I will form her and use her to do great things in My name."
4 comentarios:
Thank you Joy, I love you (from Miami)
Maruka,
She still acts prissy...
Let's see if I can get this down in a short space. I suspect I can't as what I am about to write is central to what we are as men and women since we have been expelled from paradisical Eden, but I will try to distill it.
There is a central theme that runs through the Bible that all of us get, I think, intuitively, but somehow fail to ever come to grips with and that is our separation from God. We are apart from God and the entire Bible is about how we struggle to reunite with Him.
That men see differently than God is just one aspect of our separation. It exposes the human part of our being and contrasts it with the spiritual which is, or will, become one with God. Somehow, we have this synthesis of flesh and soul that we struggle to comprehend. Yet, it is incomprehensible because we see with the eyes of men and not with the eyes of God.
How can we comprehend what we cannot see? Ask Thomas. It is a much more difficult feat notwithstanding our common experience. Our contemporary experience is awash with dissociation. The talking head on the television is not real. It is an image of a person who is (or was) sitting miles away. In fact, that person may not be in the studio at all, having taped the show previously, perhaps weeks ago. This blog is an example of communication separated from a corporeal being. We are not having a conversation. You are not in proximity to me as I write this. Yet, somehow, we are unable to piece together our separation from the Divine and put it in terms that satisfies.
Perhaps this is because outward appearances truly are not the entire story. Vegetables do not come from the grocery store. They come from the ground. Yet, even our vegetables are no longer gathered. They are farmed. That is, they are taken out of their natural context and placed into a human one. We are attracted to a person, most times, based on their appearance. Then, we get to know them. Love at first sight is a fantasy. The person we grow to love is revealed slowly, haltingly. Seeing with God's eyes must be on His terms, terms with which we have become unfamiliar.
We can try and we do try. But, we are still men and women and our eyes can only see but so far and so deep. From there, we must trust other eyes to guide us.
Mike, we must trust His eyes to guide us.
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