Interconnection

Some have a disconnect from who they are on the outside with who they are on the inside. 1 Samuel 16 records that when the prophet and judge Samuel visited Jesse's house in Bethlehem, Israel, he met Jesse's firstborn son, Eliab.

Samuel thought he had met a king. God created kings to be noble speaking and behaving in the noble qualities of Galatians 5:23 New Living Translation Bible: "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" 

Samuel was fooled by the external presentation of Eliab. Sometimes people fool others with their external presentation, but the truth always comes out.

People like Eliab often seek to mask the nobility lacking on the inside by attacking the truly noble. Eliab had a brother, David, who was a king inside and out. David spoke and acted like God would overcome the Philistines, who were enemies of God and His people, David was a part of God's plan to overcome the enemies, and God would provide David with benefits for his belief in God. Eliab did not. When David inquired into the benefits 1 Samuel 17:28 the Message Bible says, "Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: "What are you doing here! Why aren't you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you're up to. You've come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!"

If you see yourself in Eliab, seek God's forgiveness and transformation. Married, single, Africans, Europeans, Asians, Hispanics, females, males, typical people, different people, all the multiple mixtures of these characteristics and other human characteristics, God is for whosoever will receive Him and His ways.

What ways have you noticed that a lack of interconnection between the inside and outside impacts relationships with God, self and others?