I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind, to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.  Jeremiah 17:10 ESV

In 1 Samuel 16:7 God was instructing Samuel on how to choose the next king that would replace Saul. He gave him these instructions, “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 appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” David was just a young shepherd boy. When Samuel was sent to the home of Jesse (David’s father) to select one of his sons as king, David wasn’t even there. He was out tending his flock. But as Samuel looked at each of Jesse’s older sons, God told him no. So, he sent for David and David was anointed as the king that would take King Saul’s place.

One of the hardest things for me to do is to see others as God sees them. I often have to pray to God to ask Him to help me with this. After years of working in law enforcement, I have a habit of judging the book by the cover if you know what I mean. In our scripture passage today, however, God tells us that He judges what’s in the heart.

Now I’ve heard it said that you never truly know what is in someone’s heart, but the Bible tells us that whatever is in our hearts will spill out of our mouths. Of course today that could also mean fingertips due to text, email, and social media. In Luke 6:45 Jesus tells us, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

There are two things that we need to remember. First, we need to remember to do our best to see others as Christ sees them. Remember that vengeance is not our job, but God’s. When we are confronted by evil, it doesn’t mean that we spew hatred and evil out. It means that we pray for them (Matthew 5:44). It means that we leave vengeance up to God and trust in Him to take care of the situation. If that person is saved and becomes a Christian, we know that it benefits us as well as them. But, if they reject God then that’s between them and God.

Now, the second thing that we must remember is that God sees straight through us to our hearts. God knows what is in your heart. So, even if you are doing your best to fool those around you, you are not fooling God. Also know that God will deal with you if you reject Him. Galatians 6:7-9 warns us against being deceived for God will not be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. If you harden your heart, you will pay the consequences. If you continue to reject God, know that He will harden your heart. In Daniel 5:20 it says that “When his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.”

We know that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart when Moses was trying to free the Egyptians from slavery. God would bring a plague and Pharaoh would promise that if God would remove the plague that he would let the people go, but as soon as God removed it his heart would be hardened (Exodus 8:15). Now as Pharaoh continued to reject God in Exodus 14 God hardened his heart once again and he pursued the Israelites after they had left Egypt headed for the promised land. Pharaoh, because of his hard heart, made the fateful decision to pursue the Israelites. I bet when the Red Sea swallowed him and his army up that he was regretting that decision, just sayin’.

God sees the heart of man. If we enter into a close relationship with God, He will give us discernment. He will never give us the right to repay evil for evil (Romans 12:17, 1 Peter 3:9) nor to exercise vengeance (Romans 12:19). Pray for God to help you see others in the way that He sees them. Our job is to love others as we love ourselves. This means that we cut them some slack from time to time. It means that we try to share God’s love with them. If they reject that, then we move on.

Trust in God to lead you and guide you in how you deal with others. Pray for wisdom and discernment in this area. Pray for your enemies and trust God to take care of the rest. Do your best at all times to see others as God sees them and remember he sees through to our hearts. We hide nothing from Him. So, live like God is watching at all times, because He is.

Have a great day!