Judging by Appearances Only

 

 

I Sam. 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.’

What did God see in David that Samuel didn’t see? It is so easy to judge a person by what we see instead of what we know. Let’s be honest about it. We do it all the time. We judge a person by what appeals to us and by what makes us feel good or comfortable. We rarely take the time or to get to know someone well enough to really know their heart. And even if we do, we tend to ignore what we really know to be true about them. We also tend to be reactive and influenced by circumstances. Our ability to judge is always filtered through the lens of our imperfect and limited knowledge.

We must never forget, only the Lord really knows the heart.   Only the Lord is able to make right judgments, because only He knows the intent of the heart. He isn’t fooled by actions. He alone is able to get it right all the time. We must be very careful when we judge others. We need to bathe our judgments in much prayer and in light of God’s Word, knowing even then we may be wrong. It is not an easy task to judge others and it should be done humbly and fearfully.

We should always consider the fact that our judgments always have consequences. We affect the lives of those we judge and usually our own lives. Remember, when we judge another person, we are essentially judging his worth. We deem him unfit and unable to continue to do whatever he is doing.

Sometimes it is necessary to render judgment on others because sinful behavior renders them disqualified to continue doing what they are doing. We are responsible before God to hold each other accountable for our actions, but we must be very careful when we do it. The Lord holds us responsible for the judgments we make so we must not do it lightly.

We dare not cast anyone away and deem them unfit for our fellowship and love because of what may have been said or done. The goal of all judgment we render should be restoration.  And remember, the Word says we are to look inward and judge ourselves before we decide to judge another.