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seeth; forman looketh on the out–
ward appearance, but the Lord
looketh on the heart"
(l
Samuel
16:7).
God looks on tbe heart! In the
Bible, the prophet Samuel carne
to the house of Jesse. Samuel had
come to anoint the future king of
Israel. Jesse paraded before Sam–
uel seven of his eight sons- the
ones who most appeared to be
future · kiogs. But God had not
chosen them. He cbose the
youngest, most unlikel y candi–
date-completely independent of
what he looked like.
Treves himself seemed t o
grasp the same principie. He
wrote, "Those who are inter–
ested in the evolution of charac–
ter might speculate as to the
effect of this brutish life upon a
sensitive and intelligent
man . ... He had
passed through
the jire
and had come out
unscathed. His troubles had
ennobled him. He showed him–
self to be a gentle, affectionate
and lovable creature . .. 1 have
never heard bi m complai n .
. . . His gratitude to those about
him was pathetic in its sincerity
and eloquent in the childlike
simplicity with which it was
expressed." (Emphasis added.)
Merr ick's story should remind
us that God's supreme purpose is
the creation of perfect, righteous
character- God reproducing
himself by developing in human
beings perfect character. Merrick
should remind us Christ said that
such character is worth infinitely
more than physical appearance or
abi lity: " ... it is better for thee to
enter into life halt or maimed,
rather than having two hands or
two feet to be cast into everlasting
fire" (Matthew 18:8).
And as Herbert Armstrong has
written, "perfect, holy and righ–
teous character is the supreme
feat of accomplishment possible
for Almighty God the Creator."
Not an Animal
The key to understanding charac–
ter is that there is a spi rit in man,
which records that character as it
develops throughout one's life.
36
The key difference between
humans and the rest of God's
creatures is the
spiric in man.
As Herbert Armstrong has
written in his book
The lncredi–
ble Human Potencial:
"Animals are equipped with
brain and instinct. But they do
not have power
to understand
and choose moral and spiritual
values or co develop perfect spir–
itual character.
Animals have
brain, but no in tellect- instinct,
buc no abilicy to develop holy
and Godly character.
"And that pictures the trans–
cendental difference between ani–
mal brain and human mind."
The Elephant Man is a poi–
gnant reminder that there is a
vast difference between animal
mind and human mind!
When Treves first met Mer–
rick, it was because of curiosity.
Merrick's freak-show manager
had managed to imply that he was
ex hibiting a creature, half–
human , ba l f-animal. When
Treves first describes Joseph,
Josepb is an it, not a he.
But Merrick possessed human
knowledge- and no one can have
such knowledge except the spirit
of man be in him ( I Cor. 2:11 ).
lmprisoned in a hideous outer
shell was an intelligent human
being.
Merrick received many gifts
from his visitors at London Hospi–
tal. The ones he prized most were
books. By the end of his life, he
managed to acquire a " respectable"
library. Merrick was an eager read–
er-including the Bible and severa!
serious English novels, such as
thoseof JaneAusten.
The man who once was con–
demned to zoo-like degradation
developed an appreciation of dra–
ma a nd the theater. Special
arrangements had to be made, of
course-Merrick's presence
would have created a scene if the
other patrons saw him. A baron–
ess donated her prívate box, and
Merrick was taken in and out of
W est End tbeaters without
notice.
When Treves firs t met Mer–
rick, the Elephant Man was in
such a degraded and lonely condi–
tion tbat the poor ' 'creature" cer–
tai nly could not be aware of the
miserableness of his existence.
But he was. Merrick was con–
scious- throughout every painful
moment-of his deformity.
Perhaps because of this, Mer–
rick developed a great !ove and
appreciat ion of beauty. Wben
enough money had accumulated
from visitors' gifts, Merrick had
it spent on a gentleman's dressing
case with si lver fittings. The set
included s il ve r -backed hair–
brushes and comb, as well as a
silver shoehorn and an ivory han–
dled razor.
In front of his dressing case, the
Elephant Man would imagine him–
self the elegant English gentleman,
as he dressed in fine evening
clothes. A show of vanity, no doubt.
But a testimony at the same t ime
that he was a human being.
Merrick's humanity also re–
vealed itself in his one hobby. To
all who showed him kindness,
Merrick made small cardboard
models of a nearby cathedral and
presented them as gifts.
T he Glorious Human Potentlal
The Elephant Man was a victim
of a rare disease, which trans–
formed his outward appearance
into something barely recogniz–
able as human. His face could
show no expression, yet he dis–
played unique ly human quali–
ties- intelligence, sensitivity,
thankfulness.
If the recent interest in Mer–
rick should tell us anything, it is
that every human being has the
spiri t of man in him-and there–
fore has the glorious possibility of
being born into the divine Family
begotten by God the F ather.
What a shame the general reli–
gious world does not understand
the truth about the doctr ine of
the second resurrection presented
in the
Bibl~!
Almost everyone
who has ever lived will one day be
resurrected and told, first hand,
of God's way of life, without the
corrupting influences present in
this evi l wor ld (compare Revela–
tion 20:5 and Isaiah 65:17-21).
The
PLAIN TAUTH