The picture you see is a beautiful church building located in Paris, France.  From a distance it looks quite impressive, but as Jeanne and I approached the front entrance it appeared to be boarded up, it was littered with trash, and it was obvious it had been used as a rest room.  It was sad to see this impressive house of worship in such a state of disrepair.  I do not want to judge unfairly, it’s possible that there is a vibrant congregation that is salt and light in their community and they just don’t use the front entrance, but once we got a closer look we didn’t want to stay there.

As we reflect upon our lives we often want to look our best but the real question is what’s the condition of our heart?  We may appear to be quite nice on the outside but bitter on the inside.  Does our inside match our outside?  God’s concerned about what’s on the inside.  The prophet Samuel learned that lesson when he went to anoint the next king after Saul had disqualified himself.  Samuel looked at Jesse’s son Eliab and we see his thoughts,

When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.”  (1 Samuel 16:6)

I’m sure Eliab looked quite impressive he was probably tall and handsome, quite presidential – just what a king should be.  God however has another set of criteria,

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  (1 Samuel 16:7)

God’s criteria starts with looking for a heart of integrity, a heart that is devoted to Him.  It’s interesting that when David arrived the Bible described his appearance,

So he sent and brought him in. Now he (David) was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”  (1 Samuel 16:12)

God starts with the heart!  If a person has outward appearances that are good that’s not a problem, they just need to have the commensurate character development within.  The headlines are replete with too many people who look great on the outside but do not have the corresponding character within and they make a ship wreck of their lives.  This causes me to take a hard look at my life – does my inside match my outside?  How about your life – does your inside match your outside?