What you looking at?
I read this week that the company ‘Bookbarn International’, a large bookseller based in Somerset has seen an unexpected boost in sales during the pandemic.
It’s not because people have been reading more, but they have been buying up all sorts of books to go on the shelves behind then in online video calls as they work from home!
Shop worker Diane Newland said that recent customers have included celebrities and major Government figures. She went on to say that people buy books as they want to impress those they are meeting with.
Some want to reflect who they are or the work they are involved with. For example, an English Literature teacher may have books on plays or great works of fiction, or a Politician may want smart looking ‘classic’ books!
This reminded me of a story in the Bible when God sent His prophet Samuel to get a young man to be the King of Israel. On arriving at the household of, Samuel was impressed with one of his sons Eliab, but God 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.”
We can spend a lot of time on how we present ourselves to others. This is evident in the recent book sales. However, these kind of things are not what God looks at, as He looks at ‘the heart’.
In other words, God is more concerned with what is going on inside of us, the unseen things such as how we think and the motivation behind what we say and do. These are what really matter.
So, as we face more time making online video calls, there is nothing wrong in making sure the camera is right so we are ‘in frame’, and clothes drying on the airer are out of sight!
But more importantly, let’s also consider what God is after, that is what is going on ‘on the inside’, as that will determine what we say and how we behave.
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Stay safe & God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader