Look at the Heart

1 Samuel 16:7
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."

This verse holds one of the great sayings of the Bible: Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. It is not only a saying, but one of the bedrock principals as well. What if God looked at the outward appearance, the way we do? What if He judged on beauty, cleanliness, fashion sense, even age and race, as we do?
Samuel saw Jesse's oldest son and assumed he was the one. God corrected him:
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.
How wonderful that is, and how scary. At my last look in the mirror, I decided I could start on the skin creams again to counter the drying effects of the swimming pool. God looks at me and sees. . .what? A heart still inclined to anger over my job, a turmoil of emotion over Christian, a glaring lack of concern for most of the people in my world. . .
He says cream won't do any good, even the stuff that costs $65. Nothing will work but the priceless blood to beautify this heart.