Quiet Excellence
04-10-25
Rob Genin-YBL Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Success in business and life often requires looking deeper than the surface. That is difficult in a day when so much information assails us—we make many snap judgments each day. How do we learn to be perceptive and see what is truly there?
Consider the prophet Samuel. He was instructed by God to anoint a new king over Israel from Jesse’s sons. God did not immediately say whom he was supposed to anoint. Seven sons lined up to be examined:
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
.…Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” (1 Samuel 16:6-12)
As Samuel looked over Jesse’s sons, his initial reaction was that the firstborn Eliab looked the most like a king. Samuel might have been more on his guard, for he previously anointed Saul as king, who was a head and shoulders taller than anyone else in Israel (1 Sam 9:2) but failed to obey to God. Seven sons pass by, and God chooses none of them. It then becomes known there is an eighth son, David. He was not important enough to attend this meeting with the prophet. He was tending to sheep, quietly doing his work. He was the youngest, handsome but not impressive. God tells Samuel that David is the one. David’s value was under the surface, because he was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).
David went on to be a good king, but like all leaders, had significant failings. Fallible leaders make us long for a leader who never fails. Jesus is that perfect King. Like David, he looked ordinary on the surface: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him” (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus was tempted in every way, yet without sin (Heb 5:5). In plain human form, He was the perfect Son of God who would be given as a sacrifice to save everyone who trusts in Him. Following Him is good training to learn to look deeper!