God rejected Saul as the king of Israel due to his recalcitrance. God sent Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem, telling Samuel that he has chosen the new king of Israel from among Jesse's sons. Samuel sees one of Jesse's sons, Eliab; Samuel is certain that he is the one whom God has chosen. However, God responds to Samuel that he should not judge according to appearance only, because God looks not at the outside appearance, but at the heart.
One thing I have learned so much about as a priest is that we think we can know someone's situation from what we ourselves observe and from the outward appearance, but what is going on in someone's heart can be so completely different. In our society, we can get so caught up into looking at what's on the outside, to the externals that we see. That can be true of how we ourselves act as well. We are conditioned in society to make everything look good on the outside, to give a good appearance to the world, to try to get others to think well of us. Yet, ultimately, it does not matter what everyone else thinks or what our appearance is. What matters is what God sees and what God knows is going on in our hearts.
God chose David as the new king, a young man whom Samuel and the world thought to be an unlikely choice for king. May we not be quick to judge by outside appearance. May we cultivate virtue and integrity in our hearts. May we not be so concerned with some of the superficiality of outward appearance alone that can occupy so much of our time.
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