Gauging Value

“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance,
But the LORD looks at the heart.’"
1 Samuel 16:7



It’s amazing how we look at things. To begin with we see through carnal eyes then add the media that continues to mold for us the ideal look & value of a person. Even as godly as Samuel was when he saw Jesse’s son, Eliab, he “saw” the next king. We fall into the same trap in many ways.


We base someone’s value on what they are worth to us personally or
professionally. If they are helpful to us in any way they have a
value, on the flip side of that people are less valuable if they
are less helpful to us.

Knowing a person also gives them value in our eyes, we have heard
many times it’s “WHO you know not WHAT you know.” We are quick to
have an attitude in a store with a long checkout line until we know
the cashier or someone in the line; then our attitude changes.
Therefore, knowing the person gives them more value.

People we like have more value than those we tend to dislike. Those
we like seem to have more credibility.

Financial standing on the income ladder is another way we place value
with a person or a family. If they have a lower income standing we
tend to think they have less value and vice versa.


Sometimes people rub us the wrong way, it’s inevitable we aren’t going to best friends with everyone all the time. Some days we are going to be less our self than others and on those days we need to try much harder to show the heart of Christ. When we get to the point that we see people as too much stress we need to look at them through the eyes of Christ. As Jesus traveled the tiresome dusty roads he encountered many people that were poor, unhelpful, unknown and disliked to many. How he reacted to them shows they were a joy not stressful. He treasured and valued each person enough to shed his blood on the painful cross. Shouldn’t we see each person as valuable and a treasure as Christ did?