“What is that 3-story yellow building on Lenin Street?”

I had noticed the faded yellow building while exploring my new home in Far East Russia. I looked around for a sign but didn’t find one.

My curiosity was piqued when I noticed a handwritten number pasted in the lower right-hand corner of each window. Women sat at several of the windows gazing down at the street.

Adding to the mystery, several men stood on the sidewalk, shouting up at the women. The women leaned out the windowsills and hollered back at the men lingering below.

I watched this unusual scene but couldn’t understand the conversations. Finally, it hit me. These must be ladies of the night —-working in the middle of the afternoon!!

Later that day, I pulled aside a Russian girlfriend and sheepishly asked about the building. She burst into a roar of uncontrollable laughter when I admitted my thoughts to her. Taking pity on my confused expression, she explained that the building was the maternity hospital. The numbers posted in the windows were the new mothers’ room numbers, and the men on the sidewalk were their husbands.

I was SO relieved to learn it wasn’t a brothel. It turned out that men were not allowed in the maternity hospital because they carry germs. The germ-carrying husband delivered his laboring wife to the hospital, and then waited at home for the phone call announcing the birth of the baby. After the birth, husbands and wives communicated via the window until the wife’s release from the hospital into the arms of her germy husband.

The moral to this story; Never judge a building by its facade. 

I grew up hearing the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” As a child, I applied this saying literally as I browsed the enticing covers of books at the library. But as I matured, I realized there was a deeper meaning to this particular idiom.

A popular quote from The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, says,

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

This quote was a favorite of Mr. Rogers of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. He said this quote led him to look for the “essential invisible” within each person.

The Bible also speaks to this subject.

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV)

How often have you judged someone by their outward appearance? I know I’ve often fallen into that trap. I remember my excitement at the opportunity to spend some time with a well-known speaker and author. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered the beautiful outward appearance hid an arrogant and egotistical heart.

I’m ashamed to admit I’ve also negatively judged someone based on their appearance. I recall meeting a young man in need of a shower and dressed in grimy clothes. Every time I ran into this man, his first question to me was “How can I pray for you?” He praised God constantly. Once I looked past his unappealing outward appearance, the purity and loveliness of his heart astounded me. He was Jesus in dirty clothes.

So, friends, I challenge you to look for the “essential invisible” in each person you meet. Take the time to search for the heart behind the outward appearance.

That’s where you will find the treasure.