Discover Why God Cares about Your Heart, Not Your Appearance

Chris Swanson Contributing Writer
Published Jun 17, 2024

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"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

The children of Israel were tired of having a judge. They wanted a king to rule over them like the other nations around them.

Who Was Samuel?

Let us start off with just a bit of history. In First Samuel 8, Samuel had become old and needed to retire from public service. He appointed his sons to be judges but they were corrupt like the sons of Eli previously. Samuel prayed to the Lord concerning the issue of the people wanting a king. But the Lord told Samuel that the people were not rejecting Samuel, but they were rejecting God Himself (1 Samuel 8:7). Samuel tells the people what the Lord has said about having a king (1 Samuel 8:8-22).

After Saul had been appointed king (1 Samuel 10), we read that Saul at first appeared to do right, but over the next few chapters, he became disobedient (1 Samuel 13-15) to God. By the middle of chapter fifteen, Saul pleads for forgiveness. Now we come to chapter sixteen, where the Lord tells Samuel to anoint David, although Saul is still on the throne. The rest of First Samuel describes the conflict between Saul and David. Then, by the end of the book, Saul dies on the battlefield. What we want to discuss today is noted in 1 Samuel 16:7.

What People Look at Verus What God Looks At

"Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else." - 1 Samuel 9:2

In 1 Samuel 9:2, what do we see? The Scripture tells us of Saul’s stature, “goodlier” (means handsome), and he was “higher” than other people (means tall). That is what the people looked at. In 1 Kings 8:39, Solomon prays to God. Only God knows the heart of all people.

"Then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart)." - 1 Kings 8:39

In 1 Chronicles 28:9, David gives instruction to Solomon to serve God with a perfect (whole) heart and with a willing mind. Why? Because God searches the hearts of humanity and knows the innermost thoughts of them. You cannot hide anything from God. God sees everything that is in our hearts. This is what David learned when Nathan revealed the sins that David committed in 2 Samuel 12 (adultery and murder).

This is why David told Solomon to be truthfully open to God and to submit to God’s will. Again, we cannot hide anything from God, so it is futile to try to hide anything from Him. God loves us even though we fall short.

In Luke 16:15, Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd accountant. He states that people will justify themselves in front of others, but God knows your heart, and those who try to put themselves above others are detestable to God. How many modern-day Pharisees are out there today? Those are the people who act pious so that they can get praise from others.

God knew then what was in their hearts, and He knows now what is in people’s hearts. Some people still think that their wealth indicates approval from God, but it is not. I am not saying that God does not want people to be prosperous, but when wealth takes precedence over a person’s spirituality, that is detestable to God. Prosperity must never consume a Christian’s life of service and devotion to the Lord.

Why Is the Heart Important to God?

Spiritually speaking, what is it about the heart that is important? The heart is the deepest focus of the individual, where the will, the disposition, the contemplations, the sentiments, and the soul dwell. The heart is the genuine you, the center of your personal identity. In this context, the heart is not the actual human physical bodily organ that moves blood throughout the body; however, it is the spiritual center that interfaces, connects, or isolates us from God. The heart is where you either choose between good and evil. We are to look at what is on the inside, not the outside. It does not matter how well you dress up the outside or make the outside appealing to the eye of the beholder; what is on the side is the most important.

For example, you can take the most expensive automobile, have it spit-shined and waxed, and have the interior in immaculate condition without any blemishes whatsoever, but if the engine is not tuned correctly, the car will not work. If there is no oil, or if the spark plugs are not gapped correctly, the car will not work. If there is something wrong with the engine, which is the heart of the vehicle, the automobile will not function.

"You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken." - Matthew 12:34-36

In Mathew 12:22-37, the religious leaders are accusing Jesus of being Satan. But Jesus wants us to remember that the things that we speak divulge what is truly within our hearts. The words that come out convey what our hearts are deeply holding. Just because we may have the ability to clean up the way we speak does not mean that we have sorted out the problem with our hearts. We are to submit to the will of God and allow the Holy Spirit to redirect what motivates us and our attitudes. The source must be cleansed so that what comes out does not hinder or harm others.

"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." - Luke 6:45

We are reminded here that what we present outwardly, through our speech and our actions, discloses what is within our deepest being, our beliefs, our attitudes, and what motivates us. We deceive ourselves and others when we try to impress those around us (the world and other Christians) while harboring untruthfulness and dishonesty.

Romans 8:5-8 tells us that the flesh moves toward carnality and sinfulness while the Spirit moves toward the Spirit. A carnal mind leads to death, while a spiritual mind leads toward life and peace. Those who live in the flesh with a carnal, sinful, and worldly mind are enemies of God and cannot please God.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. - Psalm 51:10

We are born sinners in a sinful world (Psalm 51:5). It is only natural that our lives are centered on pleasing ourselves instead of working to please God. In this psalm, David was praying for mercy, forgiveness, and for the Lord to cleanse him of his unrighteousness. In today’s world, sin is evermore present, and we, too, should pray that the Lord would cleanse our hearts and renew our minds with heavenly thoughts. Righteous living can only come from a heart that is clean.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." - Matthew 5:8

Chris Swanson answered the call into the ministry over 20 years ago. He has served as a Sunday School teacher, a youth director along with his wife, a music director, an associate pastor, and an interim pastor. He is a retired Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman with over 30 years of combined active and reserve service. You can check out his work here.