How easily and wrongly do we judge a book by its cover, that is, judge people by their looks, clothes, facial expressions, color of skin, or ethnicity? Suppose you saw Aristotle, the celebrated philosopher from antiquity. How would you judge him if you didn’t know anything about him? Would you be able to determine his intellectual abilities based on what you saw? Setting aside his image depicted in the “School of Athens” painting in the Sistine Chapel, what did he actually look like? When I consider this man who would become the epitome of human intellect, I am amused at the description given by one noted historical scholar:

“Aristotle was an inspired teacher. Just as Socrates had taught Plato and Plato in turn had instructed Aristotle, now the philosopher from Stagira would show Alexander the wonders of the universe. With his skinny legs, small eyes, persistent lisp, outrageous clothing, and gaudy rings, Aristotle must have made a laughable impression on the Macedonian prince, but when the man spoke, Alexander knew he was in the presence of genius.”— Alexander the Great, by Philip Freeman https://a.co/8GWdp0P

Doesn’t look like a scholar to me! How deceiving looks can be! Hmmm. Can we see past the outward appearances of others? Martin Luther King, Jr. put it eloquently when he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Even more so, when the people of Israel wanted a king for their nation, they based their idea on physical appearance:

Saul [was] a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people” (1 Sam. 9:2)

But God said of him:

“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 the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)

In contrast, God sent the prophet Samuel to appoint a young boy, David, as the future king. He appeared outwardly as nothing more than a keeper of sheep, neglected as the youngest of eight brothers. Like Samuel, we need to be careful about judging others by appearances

Lord, I confess my superficial judgment about others. Help me see the potential of what You can do in their lives.