The Heart of the Matter Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: The Heart of the Matter ------------------- Date: 2/8/2003 Keywords: "appearance" "cover" "good and evil" "heart" "see" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: 1 Samuel 16:4-7* 4. So Samuel did what the LORD said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, "Do you come in peace?" 5. And he said, "In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." He also consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6. Then it came about when they entered, that he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD 's anointed is before Him." 7. But the LORD said to Samuel, "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." Questions 1. How important are a person's looks to how you eventually value them?   2. How do you think God sees us physically?   3. Do you think you'll ever be able to view people with the same purity of vision that God does?   Practical help We're too caught up in appearances. Is it some torment that God places on us — that we should be drawn to look at attractive people? And the more we see (skin, that is) the more we want to look. Think about Adam and Eve. They frolicked in the garden, in the buff, and with no indication of lustful thinking. We don't even see any verses about them gawking at each other. That was life circa "pre knowledge of good and evil." After doing the one forbidden thing (see Genesis chapter 3) their eyes were "opened," but their vision was blurred. They didn't know how to process the new aspects of what they were seeing. The naked human body no longer appeared to be the pure reflection of the image of God. There was something about it that made them feel like they shouldn't be looking (at least not while God was around), so they covered up. God even sacrificed animals for the first time so that they could be clothed and their shame abated (Genesis 3:21). Ever since then, we want to sneak a peek at what's under cover so we can think of things we shouldn't do. When God looks at us He doesn't see short or tall, fat or thin, hunky or hot. He sees our heart and its true condition. When you look at porn do you care about the condition of those naked actor's hearts? Like Adam and Eve, we have to acknowledge that our "opened" eyes can see more than God intended; more than they can handle in a God-pleasing way. And like them we have to realize that some things need to be removed from sight because we can't see them in a good way — porn is one of them. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2003 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." ---