Friday, November 29, 2013

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

READ:
1 Samuel 16:1-7

For man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks
at the heart.  - 1 Samuel 16:7

As I shopped for groceries one day, I was perceived as a thief by one person and a hero by another.

As I exited the supermarket, an employee said, “Excuse me, Sir.  There are too may unbagged items in your cart.”  This is evidently a strategy used by shoplifters.  When he saw that they were products too big to be bagged, he apologized and sent me on my way.

In the parking lot, a woman glanced at my gold embroidered sportsman’s cap.  Mistaking it for a military hat, she said, “Thank you for defending our country!”  Then she walked away. 

The supermarket employee and the woman in the parking lot had each formed hasty conclusions about me.  It’s easy to form opinions of others based on first impressions.

When Samuel was to select the next king of Israel from the sons of Jesse, he too made a judgment based on first impressions.  However, God’s chosen was not any of the older sons.  The Spirit told Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature” (1 Samuel 16:7).  God chose David, the youngest, who looked least like a king.

God can help us view people through His eyes, for “the  LORD does not see as man sees;…the LORD looks at the heart” (v.7). – Dennis Fisher

If we could view through eyes of faith
The people we meet each day
We’d quickly see God’s gracious hand
In all who come our way. –D. DeHaan
*********************************************
First impressions can often lead to wrong conclusions.

INSIGHT

David acknowledged that God had searched his heart and knew him inside out (Psalm 17:3; 139:1).  And so God commended him as “a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22).  Paul carried this theme further by warning against putting up appearances because of “the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:5).

Have a blessed day and weekend.
God Our Creator’s Love Always
Unity & Peace


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