A Story About Appearance, Judgment, and the Hidden Truths We Overlook
More than meets the eye — an amazing story that no one saw coming. Three triplets carried a secret they kept hidden from society. If they revealed it, people would believe. You’ve heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Shame on the one who forms an opinion about someone based solely on outward appearance.
We live in a culture where your looks can place you on a pedestal. As sad as it may be, it’s the truth: to many, the character of a person is insignificant. The lifestyle of the “rich and famous” is more appealing to the human eye.
One may ask, how did we get here? How did we reach a place where the surface of a person outweighs the innermost part of a person? Why are we, as a human race, so attracted and ensnared by appearance? Why are we so easily sold on worldly possessions, lifestyles, and money? Why do these things stimulate the mind in a way that causes us to ignore God’s Word?
My answer — my perspective — is this: it’s easier to fix the outside of a person than to deal with the inside. Working on the heart requires effort, discipline, and sacrifice. You must cut things off. You must stop doing things you enjoy. Many of those things bring self‑gratification, and we don’t want to give them up. We love the dark. We love lusting.
The excitement of living in disguise — incognito — becomes a game in the mind. It becomes a personal secret, or the secret of an inner circle.
Many will even sell their soul to improve their appearance. They see value in impressing others. Prestige becomes a damaging mannerism.
What is the reliability factor of the exterior person? Does it count for anything anymore? Stereotyping is no longer seen as dangerous — it has become the new norm, accepted like Visa across the globe.
The triplets, at first glance, appeared to be ordinary twelve‑year‑olds who had just come from the park. Possibly low‑income. Nothing fancy about them except that they looked alike and were well‑mannered. Unfortunately, the public often believes there is no deeper meaning to the lives of ordinary Individuals.
We have become surface-level, closed‑minded people. Society's interpretation of value has been influenced and distorted by today's culture.
We will always miss the surprising mystery of greatness with a judgmental mind.
Likewise, Saul was chosen as king because of his appearance.
1 Samuel 9:2 (NKJV) “And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.”
1 Samuel 10:23–24 (NKJV) “So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?”
Yet when Saul’s true character was revealed over time, God’s presence departed from him, and the Lord chose another — a man after His own heart.
There is also One described in the Book of Isaiah as plain in outward appearance:
Isaiah 53:2–3 (NKJV) “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him… He was despised and rejected by men… and we did not esteem Him.”
Nothing about Him turned heads. Nothing outwardly appealing. Today’s society would label Him an “average Joe.” Yet the mystery of this Man is the term Hypostatic Union — 100% man and 100% God, two distinct natures united in one Person.
He would go on to change the world forever. From the first century to the twenty‑first, nothing has changed — still the most spoken Name in the universe. There is no one like Him among all the people.
John 3:16 (NKJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Always remember, in many cases, there is more than meets the eye. And don’t judge a book by its cover.