Here is a description of Saul, Israel’s first king: ‘There was not a more handsome person…among the children of Israel’ (1 Samuel 9:2 NKJV). But his looks couldn’t compensate for his lack of character, and he died prematurely in shame and defeat. When Samuel the prophet went to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as Israel’s next king, God said, ‘Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’ Many years ago a boy was born in Russia who thought himself to be so ugly, he was certain there would be no happiness for him in life. He bemoaned the fact that he had a wide nose, thick lips, small grey eyes, and big hands and feet. He was so distraught about his appearance that he asked God to work a miracle and turn him into a handsome man. He vowed that if God would do this, he would give Him all he possessed. That boy was Count Tolstoy, who became one of the world’s foremost authors, best known for his epic War and Peace. In his books he admits that through the years, he discovered that the beauty of physical appearance he had once sought was not the only beauty in life – and it was not the best beauty. Instead, Tolstoy came to regard the beauty of a strong character as having the greatest good in God’s sight. Character is not a matter of money or looks, but of doing what is right apart from money and standing up for what’s right apart from appearances.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.