GEN1178 If we want to judge others fairly, we should pay most attention to their character, not their physical appearance of professional accomplishments.   This goes counter to the manner in which many of us assess others – namely, focusing primarily on the person’s looks, wealth, and success.  The Bible’s view is different.  Thus, although the matriarch Rebecca was beautiful [this verse], what most appealed to Abraham’s servant, who was seeking a wife for Isaac, was her great kindness.  Genesis 24:18-19.  When the prophet Samuel was looking for a successor to King Saul, and was struck by the appearance of one of David’s other brothers, God said to him, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him [as a potential king]. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.   Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart” Samuel 1 16:7.  In later Jewish writings, the Talmud emphasizes that, though the first- and early second-century sage Rabbi Joshua was very ugly, he was extraordinarily esteemed both for his scholarship and for his acts of kindness Ta’anit 7a.   Because people know that they are judged largely on the basis of their appearance, many people spend far more time working on how they look than on how they behave.   TELVOL 1:88