Will You Be My Neighbor?Sample

When I was little, my family moved multiple times and I had to make new friends at every new school I went to. Being desperate for a friend in my new class, I would look around to choose who I wanted to become friends with; and, sadly, this choice was simply based on what the other kids looked like. I was looking for the kids who looked to be the coolest or the most popular. I didn’t realize at the time how shallow that technique was. 

In 1 Samuel 16:4-13, God was choosing who He wanted to be the king of Israel from Jesse’s sons. In verse 7, 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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” As I grew older and learned more about God’s character, I realized that God looks at the heart while I was looking at the outward appearances of people. After reading this verse, I knew immediately that I had to do my best to change the habit I had developed as a kid.

If we want to be more like God, we need to do our best to look for someone's heart, and not to just look at their outward appearance. We have to see people how God sees them; He created each of us in His own image and He looks at our hearts. How many relationships have I missed out on because that other person didn’t “look” the part? Perhaps being a good neighbor is about looking past outward appearances and asking God to show you someone's heart? 

Action Item: Ask the Lord some instances where you have been too focused on someone’s outward appearance. Write those times down and ask the Lord to speak to you about it.