“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7.

I AM CONVINCED that if we lived in the days of Samuel, we too would have considered David an unworthy candidate to shepherd God’s chosen nation because of his appearance and ‘inexperience’. According to the world’s standards, Saul was certainly the one who had the physique, charm and ‘credentials’. David…well, he was just a shepherd-boy, unskilled in the art of war, unlike a warrior in stature and no match for the enemy as many were wrongly inclined to think. As little as David appeared in the eyes of many, he was the only one to confront the enemy head-on, no matter what their size (1 Samuel 17); eventually he was the one who whole-heartedly and consistently cared for Israel’s spiritual welfare – the true heart of a shepherd; out of all of its kings, only David had ascribed unto him, ‘a man after God’s own heart’; out of all Israel and Judah’s kings, it was the Davidic rule that foreshadowed Christ’s kingdom and reign that has no end. Lastly, but not least, despite his sin, David served and remained faithful unto the Lord until his dying breath.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but God truly discerns the heart.

It is the world’s way to judge a man or woman by their image. While a lot can be said for a person’s appearance, in how they look and dress, it is easy for prejudice to mar our judgements; we don’t always know their circumstances. To say that this world’s method of judging is prejudiced is in no way unfair. The facts are there and we don’t have to look very far to see them. To be accepted and applauded by the world, one must have good taste in dress sense; one must have affluence; one must have the best car, the best home, the latest gadgets – and of course, not forgetting charisma and charm that make up a drawing and magnetic personality. Without these, we can forget the dream of becoming ‘first-class’ and successful citizens. There are many people who, while living in poverty and low estate, have positively influenced others around them. Rich in character and deemed by many as the ‘salt of the earth’ yet they never made it to the front page of Time magazine

It is all about image. From the time our minds are geared for career until our retirement, comes the time to fight for success. The world says that money will determine how far you really want to go in life and although there may seem to appear some elements of truth in that, it is devilish throughout.

The world never thinks that while busy gaining notability you can forfeit your very soul; it always informs and pressures to concentrate on the outward appearance, the materialistic at the cost and grave neglect of our spiritual condition – the very heart behind all our motives for living.

Scripture states that the Christian’s outer-self is wasting away while the inner-self is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16), but why is it that many believers pay more attention to how they physically appear and what image they project to others, instead of prioritising in growing in the grace of Jesus Christ? Why, when we have been called out of the world (darkness), do many live under the its bondage: dress like this, go for that name brand, have this hair style, load yourself with these tattoos (as an artist, I strongly believe paint, ink, etcetera should be confined to canvases and walls – not flesh. God designed us wonderfully, colour and all), talk this way, walk that way…? Why do so many Christians, particularly the youth, succumb to the pressure of conforming to the world’s fashion in order to gain confidence in themselves and the love of others? It’s either that or forego friendship and acceptance in society.

I am persuaded that if Christians were to shift their focus from off the latest vogue and fashion to making every effort in supplementing their faith with virtue (2 Peter 1:5-9), it wouldn’t be the world having influence over us; we’d be turning the world upside-down as in the days of the apostles. Worldly Christianity (if such a thing exists) is when compliance to the world overrides conformity to Christ. It seems that many are embarrassed of the Christian way of living and therefore feel the need to gloss over it with a more acceptable, attractive and ‘cool’ demeanour. We ought to hold our heads up high for the life that God has called us into, not feel awkward and almost apologetic! As with the apostle Paul in his desire to provoke his kinsmen to jealousy (to desire the Messiah Who lived, died and rose amongst them), do we have that effect on others; do we make others (non-believers) say, “I want what you’ve got”?

One of the lines in Keith Green’s song, ‘Because of You’ starts off with, “People smile at me and ask me what it is that makes them want to be just like I am…” All through the song, Keith points out that it’s because of God. We all know – for those who are familiar with Keith’s life story – that he was magnetic in personality (everybody wanted to be around him) and his energetic drive in life was unstoppable and even contagious, but if one aspect stood out above all others in Keith’s life, it would have to be his passion and devotion to the God Who saved him and for others to know Him too. His life was so dynamically charged with knowing God that he couldn’t understand how others could live without Him.

Keith’s message to the Church was dynamic; it was a cry in the wilderness; it was a call to come away from living like the world while living in it.

As sons and daughters of God, do we securely live in the light of His perspective, in that all our conduct flows freely from knowing the reality that He looks at the heart, that He discerns our very motives and loves us unconditionally, or do we just about manage to get through life under the pressure of impressing others by projecting an image that really isn’t us?

I am not stating that having certain fashionable tastes is wrong – although some of it is questionable; I’m not even implying that to pursue a successful career or having a nice home is wrong – I’m just putting a thought before you: what really captures your heart; what makes it beat and to whose rhythm do you dance to?