I am currently writing these new devotionals while aboard The Anthem of the Seas, sitting on the balcony of our state room and it is chilly! Beautiful but chilly. Of course, my wife says I’m just old. The wind coming across the water drops the temperatures a bit. Some of the devotionals over the next few days are going to be from the trip and observations made along the way.
We parked the car in Detroit and hopped a shuttle that took us to the airport. While in the shuttle, I “people watched” and it made me think of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Sitting close to us was Sleepy. The poor guy was bobbing in and out of sleep. As soon as he went out, the driver hit a bump, or his buddy started talking to him. He reminded me of one of the bobble-headed dogs you used to see on the dashboard of cars.
Then there was Snooty Snoopy. This dear lady got two names. As soon as someone came on and sat beside her, she scooted over, leaving a space between. I might have just been tempted to think she was being polite but the look on her face made you think otherwise. Envision the upturned aristocratic nose and a shoulder raised and turned and you nailed it! I just about lost it laughing when the next person that got on sat right beside her and she had no place to go. I’ll call that person Texty.
Texty sat down and immediately got busy on her phone. She had to be texting, based on the speed of her thumbs tearing up the keyboard. But she was also surfing, again based on the motion of her hands
Remember Snooty. She got the Snoopy name from the fact that while Texty was busy swiping left and right, up and down, Snooty had no problem snooping, looking at what was on her screen as if this was a public screen. Have you ever had someone do that? Snooty Snoopy kept it up the whole time and amazingly, the lady never even noticed.
Then there was Chatty. He wasn’t sitting anywhere near me – praise the Lord – but he couldn’t stand silence. He thought he should give a running commentary on everything that was happening along the way. Nobody was responding to him but that didn’t stop him from making comments.
I’m sure there were others, but these are the ones that caught my attention. Perhaps
someone is saying, “Yeah, and you were Judgy!” Not at all. Never once is there a pronouncement of judgment of ANY kind. Even Snooty receives no judgment. Those may have just been her mannerism that didn’t convey an accurate depiction of an inward reality. Maybe.
Now, this brings me to a familiar Bible story. Samuel was sent to the home of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, to choose a replacement for King Saul. 1 Samuel 16:6-7 tell us, “And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him. (7) 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.”
This verse has been misused and mishandled for a very long time. Typically, people will use this to say that the externals of a person don’t matter. God isn’t looking there. He is looking on the heart and that’s what matters. Samuel saw Eliab, a strapping and handsome young man with the aesthetics and appeal that were kingly. Samuel thought that this was surely the Lord’s plan based on what he saw. Samuel didn’t even know Eliab, much less if he had the internal qualifications.
Popularity contests are typically won on the natural beauty or handsomeness of the individual along with their charm and charisma. Looking back on our days in high school, we know that looks and charisma don’t necessarily equal a good person. God looks deeper.
Consider how Samuel describes David when they finally meet. 1 Samuel 16:12 says, “And he (Jesse) sent, and brought him (David) in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” Acts 13:22 recounts this event and says, “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”
David had it all! And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Yes, externals are important. But, they should be a reflection of what’s internal. The externals shouldn’t throw confusing signals about the internals. And that’s where the work needs to be done in all of our lives – getting the internals so right that the externals naturally follow.
Ephesians 3:16-17 gives us these words to encourage us in this day: “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; (17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.”
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