The Encourager
“Does God Care about Physical Appearance? - Jeff Curtis”
Does God Care About Physical Appearance?
by Jeff Curtis
When Samuel, under God’s guidance, was ready to anoint a king from the sons of Jesse to succeed Saul, he thought he had found the right man for the job in Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab. “But the Lord said the 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 God looks at the heart” (1Sam. 16:7). This passage seems to say, “God doesn’t care what you look like.” That thought brings comfort to many of us.
It then comes as something of a surprise to read Leviticus 21 and discover that God rejected some priests because they had defects or blemishes. Does that fact violate God’s nondiscriminatory policy regarding appearances? The answer to that question is “no” for the reasons given earlier. The priests under the Old Testament system were a special case. They represented God and His holiness; to do so appropriately, they had to be “without defect.”
What about in the New Testament? Does the law of Christ that we live under have anything to say about what God thinks agrees with the truth in the passage in 1Samuel. The biggest discrimination problem in the New Testament times was not based on the abilities or appearances, but on nationality; Jews didn’t associate with Gentiles. That issue was emphatically settled by the inspired writers. Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
When God saves a person, He doesn’t consider his standing in the world. After that person has been saved, he or she is a child of God and a disciple of Jesus. God doesn’t care about a person’s genealogy or appearance. All are one in Christ Jesus.
Is there any situation in which a Christian’s appearance might matter? Yes. Since God wants each of us His people to be a good influence (Matt. 5:13-16), Christians need to consider how they look to others on a daily basis. It is true that “the Lord looks at the heart,” but other people look at one’s physical appearance and draw conclusions about Him based on what they see.
Knowing this, should we care what others see or think when they look at us? If we are concerned about being a good influence on others and saving the souls of others, then we should. Of course, circumstances vary from time to time, place to place, and culture to culture; so, no Christian can dictate how another should look in every circumstance. Still, each Christian must be conscience of the way appearance can enhance or detract from his or her Christian influence.
In some respects, we cannot do much about how we look; but all of us should “do the best with what we have” so that we can have the best influence possible on others in the world in which we live.
