But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'
God spoke those words to Samuel regarding the sons of Jesse, one of whom the Lord had chosen to be king of Israel. Based solely on appearance, Samuel was inclined toward Eliab, but God admonished Samuel not to base his opinion on a man's outward appearance.
How often we do just that! We meet someone who is well-dressed, well-spoken, with an appealing appearance, and we are inclined to believe him for no other reason than that his appearance appeals to us and, without looking too deeply, his words are plausible. But does he speak the truth, or do his fine words cover a multitude of errors?
On the other hand, we might meet a man whose clothes are ill-fitting, whose shoes are worn, and whose grammar leaves a lot to be desired, and we tend to be critical of him or disregard him completely, based solely on his appearance.
I knew just such a man who pastored a local church. He did not have the gift of mesmerizing a crowd with his sermons, often made grammatical errors and so did not come across as being well-educated, and his clothes were not appealing or fashionable—but that man was truly a servant of God who spoke the truth to his congregation, whether or not they wanted to hear it.
We make the same flash judgments of people based on outward behavior that does not meet what we deem to be appropriate standards. Do you recall what Jesus said about people's opinions of Him and John the Baptist?
'For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon." The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!"' —Matthew 11.18-19 (ESV)
How very misguided may be our opinions of people based solely on outward appearance and behavior!
I've found this to be especially true of denominations like the Baptists and Mennonites. They see a woman wearing a little makeup or a man drinking a glass of wine, and they immediately declare that person is going straight to hell. A local Messianic congregation is of the opinion that anyone who worships on Sunday, instead of Saturday, or who celebrates the birth of the Messiah on December 25 is practicing pure heresy.
Yet the New Testament is very clear that most of these things are not a matter of law, but of conscience.
One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. —Romans 14.2-3 (ESV)
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. —Romans 14.5-6 (ESV)
In Pennsylvania, it long has been legal to purchase wine only from a winery or a state store. (That is slowly changing.) Once when I visited the nearest state store to pick up a bottle of wine, I returned to my car to find a cautionary broadside under my wiper blade left there by some well-meaning church member who thought my soul was in danger because I visited the state store.
Yes, I drink a glass of wine most days because, in my opinion, it is beneficial to my health. Paul even recommended that Timothy take a little wine for his health.
No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. —1 Timothy 5.23 (ESV)
And, of course, the first miracle Jesus performed was to turn water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2.1-11).
Yet I will not drink wine in the presence of a fellow Christian who believes it is wrong, lest it cause him a crisis of conscience.
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died…. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine of do anything that causes your brother to stumble. —Romans 14.14-15 and 20-21 (ESV) (italics mine)
The instruction here is clear. If your conscience allows you to eat meat or drink wine, that's fine; but if a fellow believer considers it sinful, don't flaunt your freedom in front of him, lest you cause him to stumble.
Paul asks a pointed question:
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. —Romans 14.3 (ESV)
We need to be cautious about passing judgment on others, especially fellow believers, based solely on outward appearance or behavior. We need to re-orient ourselves to see things from a spiritual point of view, for our Father God sees a man's heart, and He is the ultimate Judge.
