Looks Can Be Deceiving – Don’t Judge At First Glance

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘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.”’ (1 Samuel 16:7);  ‘(7b) …What you have seen with your eyes (8) do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame? (Proverbs 25:7b-8)

Much has been made out of the recent White House visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, mostly due to his spat with our President, Donald Trump. There was also a bit of discussion about his attire; he wore an all-black outfit, a pull-over collarless shirt and what looked like cargo or utility pants. Some pundits were dismissive of his attire, stating he should have been in a suit for such important discussions.

A week prior, President Trump held his first Cabinet meeting, and during the presser (the open period for the media to come in and hear discussions for public consumption as well as questions and answers), DOGE lead Elon Musk stood up by invite of Trump to give a synopsis of DOGE’s findings and steps correcting needless waste. Musk was also wearing all-black attire, with a black ‘MAGA’ ballcap and a polo shirt, but did have a sport coat on. No one mentioned or called out Musk’s attire for this meeting.

The perceptions between the two men, by most Americans, are different. Musk is seen as a genius visionary, with a slew of successful, technologically cutting-edge companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, and the Boring Company in his portfolio as the richest man on Earth, worth an estimated $350 billion. The American view of Zelenskyy is divided between a leader of a desperate nation at war or a corrupt oligarch or dictator who is too demanding in either viewpoint. Musk has a level of respect (and riches) that overrides his need for a suit, Zelenskyy does not.

Personally, I no longer own any suits as I will never again grace the corporate ranks, and my entire tie collection is in Uganda, the ties draped over the necks of men whose women placed upon them in a sign of engagement. (I pray none of the women uses a tie to strangle their future mate when he gets her upset.) I have kept a couple of sport coats in case the need arises, but so far that need has not come. Still, for some, a suit is a sign of acceptance, a tool used in some cases for status, and in some cases for a level of respect.

Sometimes we see a person in a suit and tie, well-groomed, with impeccable mannerisms and we think ‘what a nice guy!’, or we see someone for the first time and they may speak out of turn or spout an incorrect fact or unpopular opinion, and we think ‘what a boorish person!’.  The tall, articulate person is ‘smart’, the short, chubby bubba is, well, a bubba.  We provide a modicum of positional respectability and likeability based on these physical attributes, as Samuel did when reviewing Jesse’s sons to pick out God’s choice as the one to replace Saul as the King of Israel. 

What Samuel was looking at was the outward appearance and assigning a level of importance on it that it did not deserve. Someone who is handsome or beautiful in appearance is handsome or beautiful, but it would be wrong to assign other attributes (positive or negative) due to that one indicator. We must be careful of the initial conclusions we draw up, and take the time to fully understand others, and situations we find ourselves in. 

We may see someone yelling at their child, and think ‘that’s a terrible parent’, until we realize the child had just darted out in front of a car and almost got hit; the reaction is not one of abuse but one of love, concern, and for the child to remember the angst it caused so that action would not be repeated.  Likewise, the well-dressed man may be defrauding money from his customers, while the boorish person is very generous with his time and treasures to helping people in need.  These are often those times when we ‘eat crow’ as we vouch for or dismiss someone, later to find out we did not take the time to fully know them. 

There are many Christians who go to church, and many believe they are the ‘model Christian’, but in reality they are members of the 6½-Day Heathenists; they appear to be believers but only act Christian-like on Sunday mornings and the other 6½ days have nothing to do with Jesus.  Others are not in the appearance of Christian-like, but by their actions and passion for the Lord we see (if we take time to look) at what they do for the cause of Christ; helping others, praying for them, reading the Word and sharing the Gospel. 

Most of Jesse’s sons looked like a king, but only David, a scrawny kid, had the heart of a King and a love of God.  We also must look beyond what we see and look for what God sees in others.  It’ll save us from embarrassment or from eating all that crow…