What Will People Think?

But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance,

or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him:

for the LORD seeth not as man seeth;

for man looketh on the outward appearance,

but the LORD looketh on the heart.

(I Samuel 16:7)

He didn’t want to go. At first he told his wife no, he wasn’t going. But as Satan didn’t accept Eve’s first refusal to eat of the forbidden tree, the man’s wife didn’t accept his refusal either. Like Satan she persisted. She wasn’t willing to give up without a fight to get something she wanted. Satan did likewise with Eve. He persisted until he changed her mind and got her to sin against God. To achieve their goal, Satan and the man’s wife used the same method. They appealed to the flesh of their victims in such a seemingly innocent way that they had no idea what the enemy was up to. (Always remember in Genesis 3:1 God describes the serpent as being more subtle (cunning, crafty) than any beast of the field). Satan appealed to Eve’s fleshly desire for the fruit. The wife appeals to her husband’s fleshly desire for something else.

When the man told his wife no, she told him he had to go ( Here again we get another glimpse of how Satan works as the Bible clearly teaches that the man is to be the leader of the home.) So how did the wife get her husband to agree to go? Appealing to his fleshly pride, she asked him, What will people think? That did it! Since they both highly value what others think, and it’s very important to look good in the community, and to family and friends, he agreed to go. The devil’s tricks worked! Mission accomplished again!

What about you? How much do you care about what people think? How often do you base your actions upon this? How much effort do you make to impress others, gain approval, and look good to the world? More importantly, how much do you care about what God thinks of you? How often is He the deciding factor in what you do? How much do you care about looking good to Him? If you are a Christian shouldn’t you care more about how God sees you than anyone else? Shouldn’t you care more about what he thinks than what the world thinks? Shouldn’t your hearts desire be to please him and to have his approval? If not, then something is wrong. Not only are your priorities out of order, your heart is out of order. God is a God of order. Creation is one of the many evidences of this. Satan is the creator of disorder, (example: wife ruling over husband) and uses it for his evil purposes.

Are you so caught up in the vanities of this world, and worldly things that you’ve forgotten what God has done for you? That he loved you enough to give His only begotten son for your salvation. Have you forgotten who He is? Can you not see how good He is to you, and how worthy of your love and honor? Oh shouldn’t you love him more, and care more about what He thinks of you than what the shameless world thinks? After all, Jesus is your friend. As a Christian, the world is your enemy, and its also the enemy of God. (James 4:4) Oh why would you seek and desire the world’s approval when it is out to destroy you and God, and your relationship with Him?

In the verse at the beginning of this writing (Samuel 16:7), the Lord tells Samuel not to look upon mans countenance. (How a man looks). He further instructs Samuel to not look upon the height of mans stature. This may include such things as a big title, position, reputation, wealth or any number of things the world is impressed by. The Lord tells Samuel, “I have refused him”. This is very meaningful. What the Lord is saying is, although this man may look good, and the world may be impressed by him, and even like who he is, I’m not impressed. I don’t like what I see. Therefore I have refused him. He does not have my approval or blessing. Nor do I want him to have yours. The Lord goes on to say that while man looketh upon the outward appearance of man, he looketh at the heart. He is telling Samuel and us that while we may be deceived by man’s outward appearance, He is not because He can see man’s heart. He can see the truth.

It’s the condition of heart that is so important to God. Oh, that this were more important to man than impressing the world with one’s outer appearance! The Pharisees too were very concerned about what others thought and often put on a dishonest show for the world.

The Lord took notice of this and became angry at them saying: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Matthew 23:26)

Have you examined the cup of your soul and life lately? Does the inside, your inner life, match the outside, your outer life? Does the world think of you as who you are or who you pretend to be? What does God see when he looks into your heart today? Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13) What does God think of what He sees? Who does He see in you? The likeness of himself or the likeness of the world? Do you care which? You should. If you don’t, one day you will. For one day you’ll be required to make the appearance of your life. You will have to go alone. No one can go with you. There you will have to stand before the throne of God and give account of your life here on earth. It won’t matter in the least what the world thinks of you then. It is only going to matter what God thinks.

We don’t know when this day will be. It may be today. It may be tomorrow. We just don’t know. But we can be ready by caring about what God thinks today, and living to please Him.

Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness;

according to my cleanness in his eye sight.

(2 Samuel 22:25)

The author, Nancye Sims, may be contacted at .