1 Sam 16:6-7

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.”

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 

This is just an aside, but Samuel seems to judge people by height a lot. When he describes Saul he talks a lot about his height and that he was head and shoulders above everyone else. He mentions it a few times. Then when it came to David’s brother Eliab, he again goes with height as a qualification. 

It’s funny, even the best of us can make judgements based on appearance. Even Samuel is not immune. 

But we must remember. God looks at the heart. 

1 Sam 17:26

And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

What got David so upset? Was it personal? Was it national pride?

No it was that Goliath was defying the living God. What’s more, nobody was doing anything. 

David is described as having God’s own heart. What does that look like?

It looks like someone who, when Gods name is under attack and everyone else refuses to speak out… they stand up and defy the mockers. They are willing to put their heads above the trench and make a stand. 

We could all do with a heart like David’s. 

John 15:18-19

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find it hard when the world is anti- Christian. It seems unfair and misguided. 

But here’s the thing, it should not be a surprise. Jesus said that it would be like this. The world doesn’t understand us or like the values we hold to because we don’t belong to this world. 

If the world hates you, remember they hated Jesus first. In the next chapter Jesus even adds this:

“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.”

They will think that killing you, or pulling you down or persecuting you is a good thing. 

We need to understand that. Because if we understood why the world hates us better we can see through it and find ways to love them despite that animosity towards us. 

Hate may be the default position against us. But love should be our default response.