Not Looking at the Outward Appearance but the Heart of Man

For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.

2 Corinthians 10:18

Good Morning Beautiful, 

Our Standards

Let’s talk about standards this morning! Yea, so pull out your secret list you’ve been keeping stashed (you know the list!). We all have a set of rules that we live by; they set the standard for our way of living by telling us what we like and don’t like. We are always pressing towards the mark; We have set up what it looks like, when to expect it, and how it will happen. 

Before moving forward, have you ever stopped and asked God if your standards for a particular something or someone is what you should be pursuing? If I take a guess, I assume that the majority will say no, which is fine (I was the same way), but I will encourage you to examine the standards you have set and brought them to God. You may be asking why that is essential well; let’s look at this morning’s scripture reading:

2 Corinthians 10:18

“For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.”

This verse tells us right here that we are not the ones that command anything. We like to assume that we are proclaiming God’s standard of approval. For example, Let’s take the list that we have for our husbands that may go something like this:  

My future husband 

1. He has to be a man of God
2. Goes to church
3. listen to gospel music
4. Has a good family
5. Loves children
6. A good career 
7. Owns a house
8. Has a car

And the list can go on and on. Now mind you at face value. There isn’t anything wrong with the list because these are things you want, and by all means, you want someone who will serve Christ with you. However, God is not interested in our version of a “good” man.

God’s Standard

God sees, and He knows things far beyond our reach. When I think of the worldly standards, it brings me to think about King David (before he was king). God sent the prophet Samuel to retrieve a new king because God has rejected king saul due to sauls disobedience. As Samuel goes to the place God had called Him, he believes He had found what God is looking for as the scripture says, “And it came to pass when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him” (1 Samuel 16:6). Like Samuel, we tend to look at the outward appearance and judge man according to his status in the world–“Surely Lord, this is the one!”. 

Man’s standards can’t fool us because God rejects man’s recommendations and accommodations. Don’t believe me; let’s look at God’s response to Samuel when he thought he found “The One.” 1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.“

Ouch! I can imagine Samuel’s face as he looks and is in disbelief about how God could not want the one that looks like a king. Samuel and Jesse go through all the sons before Samuel asks again if he has yet another son, “And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.” Now mind you, David wasn’t an unattractive man, but he did not have the look of a king. At least that is what man thought. God, however, approved, “And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.“

There is nothing wrong with having an idea about something, but don’t be closed off that if God takes you in a different direction, you reject it. God wants us open to His ideas and His truths. God is never short of His promises, but He wants to be the one to bring it forward. In my time of singleness, I have learned that God knows me better than I know myself. I have standards but were those standards built on hurt? The answer is yes! God has been taking me on a journey showing me to see the strongholds in my life. God wants to tear those walls down and do something new in you. I believe that to be true, but you have to let God in and for God to have His way. Do you trust God today? 

Reflect

1. review your list and take it before God to understand His ideas and truths for your life
2. Read God’s promise for you in Jeremiah 29:11 

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