| “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” |
| —1 Samuel 16:6b |
“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!” With those words, one of the most memorable scenes from the movie “Casablanca” is capped with an expression of ultimate approval. It’s as if Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, has passed judgment and given his nod of acceptance and approval to Ilsa Lund, played by actress Ingrid Bergman.
This somewhat curt and unique phrase raises an intersting question: “How do you judge a person?” I’m quite serious. I’m asking you—yes you: “How do you judge a person?”
Our culture places an enormous emphasis on how someone looks. Everyone—from elementary school children to men and women in their eighties—is challenged by our culture to “manage” how he or she appears to others.
We live in a highly judgmental society. We applaud people who look a certain way and look down on people who don’t meet the standard imposed by our culture. Please let me offer a very personal observation.
Because I have always been very obese, all of my life I’ve been subjected to discrimination due to the way I look. I could tell you many stories that, looking back from this point in my life, have some really humorous elements to them—but, in fact, these incidents were very hurtful to me at the time.
Add to the “turn off” my physical appearance provides, I am also very socially inept. I’m reasonably intelligent, but I never really learned how to relate to other people. My Concrete-Sequential Mind Style™ often leads me to say things that appear too blunt or harsh. Even though I care deeply for certain people, in general I’ve been told that I come across to the majority of people as quite off‑putting. Many people who may begin a casual relationship with me soon head for the hills. Most often, all through my life, I have been judged as not worthy to be included—not fitting in, as it were.
Having now reached old age, I take a great deal of comfort in the fact that such a judgmental perspective is not new. Rather, like many things that a person may endure over a long period of time, I’ve grown very used to how many people react to me. In fact, I have learned to take comfort from these few verses from 1 Samuel 16:1-7:
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.”
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.'”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Of course there is much more to this intriguing account of the ultimate anointing of the shepherd-boy, David. He will become king over Israel, replacing King Saul, who had sinned against God. But notice this key truth: “God does not measure our value and worth by our outward appearance. Instead, God looks at our hearts.” And that, dear ones, is really great news. Especially for someone like me.
Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, January 23, 2015
