“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”1 Samuel 16:7
One Saturday Carol and I were cleaning
house and making preparations for hosting some friends at our home
for lunch after church the next day. Carol was doing most of the
cooking, but I didn't want to stay on the sidelines, so I kept
pestering her for something I could do to help with the food
preparation. “I'll tell you what,” she said. “It can be your
job to go look up how to make the chocolate-dipped strawberries that
we're going to have for dessert.”
So I did what I always do when I want
to find a recipe: I got onto the Pinterest app on my phone.
Pinterest, if you didn't know, is a
treasure trove of ideas and DIY projects and solutions to common
problems. People find something that works for them, they take a few
pictures, write a description, and then the “pin” it on their
board. Other people can look at their “pins” simply by using
common keywords in a search menu. There are literally bajillions
(that's like a million with about a dozen zeroes after it) of things
you can find on Pinterest.
When I searched for “Chocolate” +
“Dipped” + “Strawberries” hundreds of mouth-watering images
appeared on my screen. Images like these:
I was inspired! When I clicked on the
recipes, they were amazingly simple. Just wash and thoroughly dry the
strawberries, leaving the leaves on their tops. Then heat up some
chocolate, either using a double boiler or a microwave oven, and dip
the strawberries in the chocolate, giving a little shake and twist to
even out the coating on the strawberry. Then place the strawberries
on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, and let
them cool in the refrigerator. Or, you could drizzle the chocolate
strawberries with white chocolate, or dip them into sprinkles to add
color and texture before putting them on the cookie sheet.
Easy peasy, right?
I decided to dip some strawberries
first in white chocolate and then drizzle with milk chocolate, and
then dip other strawberries first in milk chocolate and drizzle with
white chocolate. The dipping part went as described on the Pinterest
sites. But the drizzling, not so much. Take a look at my first
attempts:
I had just experienced what is known as
the “Pinterest Fail.” Or, as they say on Twitter and Instagram,
#pinterestfail. I was crestfallen! My hopes were crushed! I was a
total, abject failure! Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad. I was a bit
disappointed, though. I fell far short of my expectations (which
were, admittedly, fashioned by what I saw on Pinterest).
It wasn't pretty. If I were to fix
these strawberries on the Food Network, I would be chopped...
I did try again, with better results.
By the time I made the last strawberries, I actually had something I
wouldn't mind posting on Pinterest:
Our friends enjoyed the strawberries at
lunch the next day. Nobody balked at the “ugly” strawberries. We
had some of the “pretty” strawberries, and some of the “ugly”
ones on the same plate. Guess what—they all tasted the same!
In the end, it wasn't how they looked
that mattered. It was their flavor, their sweetness that was
important.
I'm reminded of the story in the Old
Testament, where Samuel is told by God to go to the house of Jesse,
for there Samuel would find the person he was to anoint as the king
of Israel. Samuel asks Jesse to bring in his sons. When Samuel sees
Eliab, the first son brought in to him, Samuel thinks to himself,
“Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord.” Not
sure what impressed Samuel so much. Maybe Eliab was impressive in
stature. Maybe he just “looked the part.” Whatever it was that
impressed Samuel, he thought Eliab would be the one whom God would
anoint as king.
God, though, had something else in
mind. “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.'” As Eugene Peterson translates it in The
Message, “Men and women look at the face; the Lord looks into the
heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
People are often awed by the fancy and
flashy. Outward appearances mean something in our world. You can't
watch TV or browse the internet without noticing that everything is
beautiful and perfect. It definitely skews our expectations for
ourselves and for others. It makes me feel like I need to “wow”
people with my looks, how I dress, how I come across to others. I
need my life to be “Pinterest perfect.”
But thanks to God, I don't have to
focus so much on my outward appearances. Or the appearances of
others, either. God doesn't take note of things like the cars we
drive or the houses where we live; God doesn't care if our clothes
are the latest designer fashion or store-brand knock-offs. When God
determines my worth, God doesn't look at the color of my skin, or
my nationality, or my political preferences.
God looks at my heart. God looks at
your heart.
What I think God appreciates more than
the way we look on the outside, is how we look on the inside. What is
the condition of our heart, spiritually speaking? When God looks
inside us, does he see the fruit of his Spirit at work—love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control?
When we judge ourselves and others by
outward appearances, we all fall short of Pinterest perfection.
But that's okay.
Because God isn't looking at us as if
we're pins on Pinterest. God is looking at our hearts.
Maybe we should look at others the same
way God looks at us. Look beyond their appearances, and look into
their hearts.
Do that, and you'll probably find something (someone, really) to love.
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