But the LORD said to Samuel: "Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." (1Sam 16;7)
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, "There-anoint him, for this is he!" (1Sam 16;12)
I heard this in church today and it made me smile. God sends Samuel to Jesse's place in Bethlehem to pick a king to replace Saul. They plan it well because Samuel is afraid that if Saul knows where he is going, Samuel's life will be in danger. Samuel gets there and immediately Jesse's sons appear and God warns Samuel about the danger of judging on appearance. God tells him that God doesn't choose according to physical appearance but according to the person's inner attitude toward Him. So, no sooner than we finish reading the warning, we get the description of David and how handsome he is. Huh? What is this? I guess it must be OK for God to choose according to appearance, but not us. But then there is the other side of the coin that I guess I forgot in the instant of hearing what was being read. Isn't it that the inner spirit of a person makes the outer part beautiful to match what is inside? Didn't we mention that just the other day when we heard that "no one is ugly while smiling?" So I vote for that. I also must say that this story brought to mind something that happened to me about 30 or more years ago.
I was the director of human resources at an electronics components plant in San Diego. We were looking for entry level employees, and we had many jobs to fill. We ran ads in the newspaper and we were getting a steady stream of applicants. One day, Adonis the Ethiopian came in looking for a job. Had to be the result of one of Mussolini's people and this hunk's mother. Blue eyes, Roman nose, silky skin, wavy hair and flashing white teeth highlighting a 1,000 watt smile. My assistant went nuts. She detained this specimen for an indecent amount of attention at the front desk. She came in and "presented" him to me with the most transparent recommendation that I or you have ever seen from a front desk assistant. So I talk to the guy and I decide to do her a favor. I mark his paper with a "+" sign. This indicates that she can tell him that we will call him tomorrow and the news will be what he is expecting.
You know what? She enjoyed his glow for a while but when she found out that he was a lout, she was the one wanting us to fire his sorry *&%#)) as soon as possible. (He lasted 5 weeks.) So God was right. So be careful when you make decisions. Make sure that you have it all together in the same place when you make up your mind.
Having been a human resources management person for three decades, I assure you that I have a truckload of stories to tell about hiring decisions and firing decisions that I have taken and recommended. Good ones and bad ones, of course. If I had the talent of Carlin or Leno I can assure you that I would not be doing this at midnight every night!
:-)!
No comments:
Post a Comment