“How Do You Appear?”
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Fourth Sunday of Lent: 3/2/08
As we continue in the Lenten season, I want to talk about how we appear. Do we appear as a Tigger, or an Eeyore? Now in one sense this can be misleading, because we can be depressed inside, and yet appear cheerful on the outside. If someone asks you, “How are you doing?” you usually don’t tell them the truth, you fib a little, and say you are “fine.” We put on a façade of how we want people to see us. We usually don’t want our true self to be seen. But we can only fool people for so long, because in time, how we truly feel inside will come out on the outside.
The other side of this is how God sees us.
I. How we try to appear- (Romans 12:1-2)
a. The pressure we feel- First, let’s talk about how we try to appear.
We are a generation that is so concerned with our appearance, that we are constantly buying weight loss books, or how to look good books. Most people are very concerned with how they appear.
In 2008, Fitness magazine did a poll about what drastic steps women would be willing to do to hit their “ideal” weight. Nearly a quarter (23%) would spend a week in jail; 23% would shave their head; 22% would wear a bikini on TV; and 21% would trade 10 years of life. Most of these women polled, (85%), would rather have an extra toe than 50 extra pounds. Why is this? Because we want to have a good appearance, and we are a society that preaches you have to be thin to look good.
On top of that, the clothes we wear are important also. Last week I came across a quote which says: “The clothes we wear are the first image we offer. Sloppy or flashy clothing, the wrong colors or the wrong combination can project a negative image to the outside world. I’ve noticed that people treat me differently depending on how I dress.”
This quote reminds us that people judge us more positively if we dress well, and if we are not overweight. EX. I know that when I dress up, and wear a tie, I am looked at differently than when I am dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Sometimes when I make a hospital visit and I am wearing a tie, people have looked at me at times like I’m a doctor. What this teaches us is that our appearance is important for acceptance, and sometimes even for love. Because of this, we stress out about putting forth an image that is good, regardless of how we feel inside. (We’ll talk more later about how what we feel inside about ourselves affects our outer appearance).
So we need to ask ourselves: “Why is it so important to appear like I am doing well? Why do I care so much about what others think?” These are interesting questions, because most of the people we try to impress, are people we don’t even know that well. And is it really that important to have others approve of us solely on how we look and how we dress?
b. Overcoming the pressure- In doing this, we are really trying to
conform to a prescribed agenda by society. We are allowing the world to tell us how we need to look, and how we need to dress. It is easy to get caught up in this. But the Bible warns us against this in Romans 12:1-2, "1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
We need to understand that it really is a changing of perspective, a “renewing of our mind” in how we think, that will help us to move past this desire to be accepted by others. We have to get to that place where we stop believing what the media is trying to portray to us about appearance.
ARTICLE: “Are Size Zero Models Too Thin for the Catwalk,” by Karen Kay
As top Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos floated down the catwalk last month to rapturous applause from fashion mavens and front-row celebrities, she thought she’d reached a new career high. The already skinny 22-year-old had been informed by her model agency that she could "make it big" if she lost a significant amount of weight. So, for three months she ate nothing but salads and greens and drank only Diet Coke in an attempt to reach the elusive ‘size zero’, so coveted by the fashion world today. Minutes after stepping off the catwalk, after complaining she felt unwell, Luisel dropped dead from heart failure. The ultimate fashion victim.
Today, as London Fashion Week kicks off, the size zero model debate has reached epic proportions. The question on everyone’s lips is not what the new skirt length will be for the coming season, but what the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the model wearing it will be. This is calculated by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by your height in meters squared. A BMI of 18.5 or below is classed as underweight by the World Health Organization. Sparked by a ban at the recent Madrid catwalk shows, on girls with a BMI below 18, the Mayor of Milan is calling for a similar ban at the upcoming shows in his country. Letizia Moratti is urging the fashion industry to change its stance on using "sick-looking" models, and asks the movers and shakers within it to promote a healthier body image to young Italian women. It’s a move that one might have thought would be welcomed in the UK, following recent reports that anorexia and eating disorders among British women have reached shocking levels, with one in 100 women suffering from them.
Maybe this new philosophy in the modeling world will start to translate to the rest of society. Maybe we will see the world starting to realize that you don’t have to be a certain “weight” to appear beautiful. Maybe we will start to realize that the outer appearance is not all that we should be concerned with. Maybe we will realize that we have been created for more than just our looks. Maybe we will be able to have a greater perspective about what is important in life.
II. How God sees us- (Psalm 139:14; 1 Samuel 16:1-13)
a. God does not look at the outer appearance- There is only one you,
and there is only one me. We have to understand that we are a creation of God. As Psalm 139:14 reminds us: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” We are a wonderful work of God. And we have to understand that this goes beyond our appearance.
God has created you just as he wanted you. Do you believe that? If you don’t believe that, it is because you are comparing yourself to something that is not real. Maybe you are comparing yourself to others who are thought to be better looking. Or maybe you are comparing yourself to others who are thought to be more talented. Or maybe you are comparing yourself to others who seem to have more.
Our lesson this morning from the book of 1 Samuel is a good lesson. In this text, we see that God is calling Samuel to go and choose a new king. So Samuel goes to Bethlehem, in order to choose this king. Jesse and his sons were invited to the gathering, where Samuel was sacrificing a heifer so that God would be with them. As Samuel begins to look at Jesse’s sons, he is impressed by their appearance.
Let’s again read 1 Samuel 16:6-10 to see what takes place:
“When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD.’ 7 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 man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’ 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, ‘The LORD has not chosen this one either.’ 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, ‘Nor has the LORD chosen this one.’ 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, ‘The LORD has not chosen these.’”
Up to this point, Samuel has thought that each of Jesse’s son had the appearance of a king. But God was teaching Samuel that a good king is not to be based on his appearance. As we are told in verse 7, God is more concerned about a person’s heart. I hope that this surprises you as it surprised Samuel. God is not concerned with our outer appearance. Now this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep ourselves in good health. We need to take care of our bodies and look the best that we can. But it does mean that we should not do this to the detriment of our heart and our faith.
So ultimately, David is brought before Samuel. David is a sheep herder; David is rough looking (probably from being outside all the time); David is young. David does not look like a king. But God’s message to Samuel is clear: “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”
b. How we feel inside affects our outer appearance- This passage
should speak loudly to you and me. What we should gather from this is that what is in our heart is what God is most concerned with. What God is telling us, is that when our faith is right, and our heart is right, then we will be who God is calling us to be.
But people don’t believe this. Too often people try to change the way they look. Maybe they get a nose job; or maybe they get botox; or maybe they get breast implants; or maybe they get a chin implant; or maybe they get a facelift. I could go on and on. Doctors make a lot of money on people’s insecurity. Why? Because we are too caught up with looking a certain way.
If we were as concerned about our inner beauty as our outer beauty, then we wouldn’t have problems. I say this, because if we can have the right inner beauty, then our outer beauty will take care of itself. That is because how we feel on the inside will affect how we look on the outside. Often times we fail to take care of our appearance, because we are feeling negative and don’t think it will do any good. I love the saying: “The best thing you can do to improve your appearance is SMILEJ.”
Think back to Tigger and Eeyore. When you watch the show, Tigger makes you laugh, and smile, and have fun. Eeyore, however, brings you down, and saps your joy./ I don’t care how cute a donkey Eeyore could be, his negativity would cause him to not look so cute. And this is true for you and me. It is not fun to be around someone who is negative. Negative people will bring you down. Negative people will sap your strength. Negative people will keep you from dreaming.
1 Samuel 16:13 says: “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power…” Here we see David being anointed with oil and set apart to be king. There was joyous celebration, and the Holy Spirit came upon David. When we accept our calling from God, God will anoint us with the Holy Spirit. But if we are negative, we will not be in a place to access this power.
What we feel on the inside affects our appearance and our productivity.
Initially, we may be drawn to people who are good looking and dress well, but if they are people who are hurtful, or snobbish, or negative, then it doesn’t take long to decide that I don’t want to be around them. Their inner ugliness causes them to be seen as no longer being beautiful. It is then that we start to understand that what is going on with our heart is what is most important.
As the saying goes: “If your heart is cold, my fire cannot warm it.”
Conclusion: Our world is messed up in many ways, but one of the biggest is the way that people are judged. We shouldn’t be judging people to start with, but we do, and more often than not, it is based on the way we look. Consequently, we are more concerned with our outer appearance, than our inner appearance. We are more concerned with outer beauty, than with inner beauty. And this leads so many people to become superficial and self-centered.
There is no joy in a world that is superficial and self-centered. This is not how God created us to be, and this is not what God cares about. God gave us our body to love, and bless, and worship, and to help others. God didn’t give us this body so that we could be analyzed and criticized ostracized.
posted by Logan's Blog at 12:23 PM
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