Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

August 17, 2025

By: Elle Mann

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When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

But the lord looks at the heart.

I have to say, that is one of my favorite lines not just in this story, but in the entire bible. 

One of the most important lessons that we are told throughout our lives is to not judge a book by its cover.  Because in order to tell if it's a good book or not, we have to open it up, and read every page.  This is not to say that first impressions aren’t important, but they can be superficial.  How can we know for sure if this book is entertaining if we don’t even pick it up off the shelf?  The same goes for people, how can we say we know for sure who someone is based on one simple look or interaction.  

Eliab, Jesse’s eldest son is described as tall and strong with good looks, and Samuel immediately looks to him to be the leader without even considering the fact that he may just turn out to be the next Saul.  He is the first in the long line of Jesse’s sons to be presented to Samuel, and Samuel makes the snap judgement based solely on the fact that Eliab is (for lack of a better word) swoon worthy.  

Throughout the gathering, time and time again, God rejects each of Jesse’s sons. Then, once they reach the end of the line, Samuel asks if there is anyone left, any other son that Jesse could have.  David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, isn’t even thought about for the position of King at first.  His father feels he is more fit for the farm life, so he leaves him at home to tend to their animals.  

Let that sink in for a moment.  The man God himself chose to be king, didn’t receive an invitation. Wasn’t even on the initial guest list.  He was the last thought to be picked for King, a humble boy whose life was farming day in and day out.  A son who had no hopes or aspirations about becoming a ruler. But in the end, he was the clear choice to rule Israel.

Why do we as a society place so much importance on the physical appearance of people?  Why do we always go for the one who looks like a good and fair leader, instead of the one who actually is both of those things.  Now this isn’t to harp on people who are deemed beautiful to society, who of course can have those qualifications; but too often we are drawn to what looks right, as opposed to what actually is.  And in a sense, that is very detrimental when we are looking to build a community.  If we just go along without opening the book and reading it, we often will come up short.  Just because the story doesn’t look appealing doesn’t mean it’s devoid of any value.  In fact, maybe it’s the best book to ever exist, but you’d never know because you went to one that looked easier to read.

Back in the late winter and early spring, I among several other members of this congregation took part in a class where we were taught by Pastor Mike on how to write a sermon.  Week by week, we were shown different ways to write and deliver messages, and in each session, we were expected to write a short speech on a certain topic and present it to members of the class.  Our final project was to write a ten-minute sermon on the scripture we were assigned at the beginning of the 6-week course.  When I initially wrote this sermon, I searched for examples in pop culture that I could use in comparison to this piece of scripture.  And for a while it was really difficult for me to find any sort of relation that could help me better understand the meaning of this chapter of Samuel.  That was until the night before the final draft of the homily was due, when the answer finally entered my brain:  Shrek.  

I know, it sounds a little ridiculous at first, but just roll me here.  At the beginning of the story, our protagonist, the title character Shrek, is a lonely creature who lives far away from the boundaries of society.  In the film, he and the iconic character Donkey are sent on a quest by Lord Farquaad, leader of Duloc.  They have to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona from the highest room in the tallest tower of a dangerous dragon’s keep.  A bunch of hilarity and heartfelt moments ensue throughout the film, but the overall theme of it is clear.  Things are not what they seem, and in order for us to comprehend a person’s true nature, we have to give more than a simple glance. 

We can take it even further than that.  Actually, getting to know someone takes time and effort, and more often than not, people don’t show their real colors to just anyone on the street.  Even if you know some of this person’s beliefs, there are still so many more layers of complex traits that come with each person that you meet during your life.

Take the character Shrek.  Sure, he can be a little bitter and cranky from time to time, but in truth he has a kind heart and wants what’s best for the people he cares about.   Society has deemed him a big, stupid, ugly ogre. They’ve cast him out, made him feel like a monster, like he doesn’t belong in their world.  “They judge me, before they even know me.”  I can wager a guess that every single person in this room right now has been on both sides of that statement.  Every single one of us has made a skin-deep judgement of someone, and everyone has had that kind of comment made about them.  

Next, we have Lord Farquad, a man who presents himself as a worthy ruler to the people of Duloc.  But as the film goes on, you continue to see reasons why he is not the person he presents himself as to the public.  His hunger to sit on the throne and have unlimited power made him unworthy to lead in the end.  This hopefully leads the watcher to realize that we shouldn’t just blindly follow those who have a high rank.  Just because someone presents themselves in a proper manner does not always mean they can handle problems as well as themselves appropriately.  

Then there’s Princess Fiona, who appears to be a beautiful woman in the eyes of her peers, so people treat her well.  Just on that fact alone.  But for those of us who have not seen the movie, because of a curse that was put on her as a child, Fiona turns into an ogre at night.  Like Shrek, she is what everyone would call a hideous ugly beast.  

You could even make an argument that the dragon is an example as well, as she’s not as vicious as she is made out to be at first.  The only character that you could argue show’s his true colors from the very beginning is Donkey. 

So, where am I going with this?  How could I possibly tie the story of Shrek to the story of David being appointed the King of Israel?  I’ll ask you again, to let what I just talked about sink in.  Though the scripture at this point doesn’t go into much detail on who David is as a person, God believes he is worthy to take a seat on the throne.  In the beginning of Shrek, he is picked to go on this quest and in the end becomes an unlikely hero in the eyes of the world.  Granted, he doesn’t become King like David does, but he does help a lot of people along the way.  

Now, let’s talk about this line, “...but the Lord looks at the heart.” His choosing of David, and the magic behind this entire bit of scripture is that God chose David not because of his outward appearance.  Not because of the clothes he wears, or the strength of his arms, but because of the strength of his heart.  

In order to get a full grasp on this idea, we first have to take away that signal our brain initially sends when we see someone.  We have to reject the idea of the three second analysis.  Which I know from personal experience as a human being can be a very toilsome task to perform.  In order to do this, I encourage you to think of this lesson that Pastor Mike gave not so long ago.  In order to understand other humans, we have to accept that we won’t know all of the answers immediately, if ever.  We have to, like in all other cases, learn at human speed.  And we also have to keep this idea in mind. 

God creates all of us with a vision, he loves us not in spite of what we look like, but because of what we look like.  He made us all in his image, which means in turn, that not only are we all beautiful in our own way, but we are all capable of great things.  How does Shrek fit into all of this?  Well, the creator of this story used Shrek as a way to show that it is what is on the inside that counts the most.  In the end, Shrek, a humble ogre is shown to be a more reliable leader, despite the fact that his journey begins for selfish reasons.  Whereas someone such as Farquaad, who is so desperate for power, ends up sacrificing the kind heart that God places so much importance on.  

My hope for you is that we walk out of here today, that you use your eyes in the way that God does.  That you look deeper than the surface.   To look at the heart.  And not to judge, not to ridicule, but to be curious about the people around you and love them as he tells us to.  Amen.