NIV Heart of Gold Holy Bible NIV Heart of Gold Holy Bible - Sampler | Page 8

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DEVOTION
03
Everyone Matters to God
“Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and
was beautiful.” ~ GENESIS 29:17
W
eak eyes? What does Leah’s eyesight have to do with this
Bible story? Of all the things the writer of this passage
could have said about Leah—her favorite things, her talents,
her voice—you hear about her weak eyes, as if that was the only
thing that mattered about her. Bible scholars don’t even really
know what the word “weak” means here. Maybe it means gentle,
kind eyes. Maybe it’s an insult. It seems like an insult when
“weak-eyes-Leah” is compared to “beautiful-Rachel,” her sister.
Comparisons hurt. So do labels. If you are compared to a
sister, or a cousin, or a friend, you probably know what this
feels like. “Oh, she’s the smart one.” “The athletic one.” “The
clumsy one.” “The tall one.” “The good one.” Nobody wants
to have one little part of their looks or personality become
the only thing people notice about them. Leah’s eyes were
definitely not the most important thing about her.
Leah’s story is so much bigger than a description of
her eyes. God loved Leah. He blessed her with many children,
which was one of the biggest gifts of happiness a woman
could want in Leah’s time. During the time when Leah was
alive, a woman who had children was respected because
children were a way women were cared for when they
got older. Leah had a son named Judah who was the
ancestor of Jesus, and Leah’s son Levi would start the
family who would lead God’s people as priests and
teachers.
You don’t have to listen to and believe the hurtful
things people say about you. You don’t have to let your life
be limited to descriptions of your eyes or your height
or any other little thing. You can believe what God says
about you instead: “This girl belongs to me, and I’m
going to give her a big, amazing life full of joy!”
PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for choosing me no matter
what I look like or what I can do. Help me to not compare myself
to others because you have a special plan for my life.