Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Attitude determines the Lord's favour

UV 364/10,000 Attitude determines the Lord’s favour I Samuel 16 v 7 1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart We are sentient beings. We rely predominantly on the senses. Among the senses, our visual faculty or our eyes dominate our sense of reality. When we look at people we judge them by their appearance, their colour, their features, their height and external personality. Even the prophet Samuel who was called from childhood to serve God and was trained in all the ways of the Lord was inclined to judge and choose a king for Israel based on stature of the candidate. But the Lord chides him and asks him not to choose on the basis of outward appearance. Saul, a generation earlier had been chosen to be the first king of Israel for his comely appearance and as he was shoulder and head above the other Israelites. We all know how Saul met with a disastrous end. Even today in the secular or church context, you will find the leaders with the largest following are the ones who also look good. The persons given responsibility in important functions are the ones who look most personable and impressive. But the Lord says do not judge a book by the cover, judge instead by the attitude of the heart of the person as revealed by the Holy Spirit. Man looks at everything but the hidden heart but God looks at nothing but the heart of man. Nothing is hidden from him- not our thoughts, our motives or our emotions. Attitude is the intersection of thoughts, emotions and desires. It is the core of our being. We need to ask, “ is our attitude at the present moment pleasing to the Lord?” We need to ask for the spirit of discernment as a gift from the Holy Spirit to discern the attitudes of others. The beauty and glamour industry dominates the media space today. But the Word of God says “ that which is highly esteemed by men is abomination in the sight of God.” God knows the reins and hearts, implying that He knows our controls and motivation. He searches our hearts and understands our thoughts and imagination. He sees the heart that fears Him, honours Him and loves Him. He declares such an attitude an attitude of perfection. Such a heart wins the favour and esteem of the Lord. Winning the esteem of men is easy but to win the esteem of the Lord requires a deeper and more enduring work. Prateep V Philip

2 comments:

  1. Today's passage and thought is so poignant with so much of pragmatism. And thank you so much for sharing your mediation on this passage.
    We are all benefitted from your meditation as we are in total agreement your way of thinking.

    Thought I should let you know. May God bless you and use you even more in the Ministry that He has given you.

    God bless you more and more.

    Have a wonderful day ahead, Bro. Philip.

    Warm Regards

    Samuel G Abraham

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    Replies
    1. Thanks and Praise the Lord for your honest feedback..prateep

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