Kish had a son named Saul, a choice young man and handsome; among all the Israelites there was not a man more handsome than he. He was a head taller than any of the people. – 1 Samuel 9:2, Amplified Bible

Some years ago, a middle-aged man visited a car dealership in Greenville, SC. When the man stepped out of his old, beat up pickup truck, the car salesmen scattered at the sight of him. Dressed in worn and torn farm coveralls, the salesmen assumed that this guy had no money and was not worth their time.

There was one salesman, however, that didn’t run. New to the business and not jaded with preconceived notions, the young man waited on the customer as if he were a millionaire – only to find out that he was! The now-deceased textile magnate and philanthropist John D. Hollingsworth, Jr., worth about $290 million at the time of his death in 2000, bought a brand new truck, all cash. The young car salesman’s paycheck was quite nice that week.

We naturally make judgments about other people based on their appearances, and it’s almost impossible for us not to. But we would do well to look past those appearances long enough to give people the chance to prove their hearts to us. Granted, only God can see and understand the total heart of a person. But by observing people’s behavior long enough, we can discern some of what is in the hearts of others. Sometimes we will see people whose outward appearances, like King Saul, make them seem worth following, only to find out later that the opposite is true. Other times, appearances make us want to overlook certain people, like the young shepherd David, only to find out later that such character is indeed worth following. With a little bit of patience and love in dealing with other people, we will learn how to size up people based on the content of their character rather than their appearances, and we will therefore become much more effective in dealing with others as ambassadors for Christ on Earth.

Try to look past the facades people project. When you do, you may find many people who, on the outside, are anti-Christ. But, with a little bit of patient love, you may just find that some of those people are desperately seeking Christ – maybe even without knowing it – and that God has put you into their lives for such a time as this.

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