The Heart of the Matter

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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” ~1 Samuel 16:7

It’s such a nice feeling to pass by someone in a store, at work, at church, on the street, etc., and they look at you with a smile on their face – maybe even say “How are you today?” It’s a courtesy that is often overlooked in this world full of people with 2,000 Facebook friends that don’t even know their next door neighbors. We are often detached and like to keep it that way, thinking that if we look up and smile at someone, we might actually end up having to stop and talk to someone. We might even have to invest some time in that person, rather than just click “like” on their status. We might, rather than just see the smile on their face, actually find out what’s going on in that person’s life; their concerns, their joys, their fears, their excitement, or their pain. And sometimes we just don’t want to get involved in all that, so we don’t look at them, just keep moving and staying busy, don’t get involved, basically…don’t care. Oh, we would never say we didn’t care, or maybe even admit that to ourselves. When it comes right down to it though, while we’re thinking we don’t have time to hear someone else’s heart, we are often avoiding having to look at our own.

You see, a smile on someone’s face is pleasant and makes us feel that a person is friendly, makes us feel comfortable. But, a smile can mask deep hurt, rejection, feelings of inadequacy, and so many other things. We often put on a good face for friends so that they will think everything is okay. We put on a good face at work and laugh with coworkers as we go about our daily duties. We put on a good face for our family when we may have health concerns or financial concerns, or when they’ve hurt us and we just can’t admit it to them. There are so many reasons that we put on our smiley mask to show the world that all is well. We put on that smile and “It’s so good to see you,” at church with people that love us like family so that they won’t see the turmoil, the doubts, the sin, the ugliness going on inside. But there is one that sees through all of that façade, who can see the true self behind the mask, and the true heart that lies within.

When we come before Him in worship, He sees what’s really going on in our heart. He sees whether the things we do are for show, or whether we do them out of a true desire to serve and love Him. When we lift our hands up to Him and sing His praises, He knows whether we do it out of a sense of obligation or out of a genuine longing for His Presence. Regardless of how “holy” we think we may look as we lift Him up, He is the only one that can see the true nature of our worship…whether it is about us or about Him.

None of us are perfect, none of us has it all together (regardless of how we may try to appear that we do), and all of us are in desperate need of a Savior. We cannot fool Him into thinking He has our heart. He either does or He doesn’t, and He knows which it is for sure. What it comes down to is this; our heart is what matters to God, not our words. We can say all the right things all day long, but if we aren’t walking it out and showing our faith through the life that we live, we are simply showing that our faith is dead and that our heart is far from Him. It’s time that we put aside the mask and stop worrying about the appearance of perfection – we aren’t perfect, not one of us! We need to set our heart on the things of God and love Him above all else. His love for us is like no other, unfailing, unconditional, full of compassion, and never-ending. It’s time to realize that the heart of the matter is this: our heart IS what matters to Him more than anything else, and He is just waiting to lavish His love upon us.