Perspective

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

Interesting perspective!

When we consider perspective, there are different perspectives on perspective: 1) Our perspective concerning ourselves versus others; 2) others’ perspective on us compared to themselves; and 3) most importantly, Divine and Human perspectives.

First, let us define "perspective" - "the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer." Perspective is seeing things from a different position or viewpoint, as if standing outside of ourselves. Perspective is seeing things as if we are someone else. Perspective is removing all the subjectivity to see intellectually and objectively clearly. To gain a new perspective we must, proverbially, walk in another's shoes.

What is our perspective concerning our lives as we compare ourselves to others? Do we have the right perspective on life? Are we living by God's perspectives or the world's? What are the applications for us?

1. Perspective on Worldliness - How do we compare to the world? Most of us live a supremely superior moral life as compared to unbelievers. From that broad perspective we are incredibly righteous. But should we view ourselves from the world's standard?

2. Perspective on Spirituality - How do we compare to others in our congregation? It is probably relatively easy to find someone less spiritual than ourselves. From that myopic perspective, then we are truly spiritual. But should the weaknesses of others be our standard for strength?

3. Perspective on Marriage - How do we compare to the national average? If we consider ourselves maritally successful by simply comparing divorce rates, is that God's perspective on what He designed marriage to be? Is a marriage successful just because it does not end in divorce?

4. Perspective on Happiness - Have we bought into the idea that happiness is defined by material possessions? Do we believe Satan's lie that whatever we want is what God wants? "God just wants me to be happy!" is not true if we define happiness by the world's perspective.

As we think about using the world's standard as our gauge, let's consider an interesting perspective of Jesus: "To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children" (Luke 7:31-35). Jesus basically called those around Him a bunch of "cry babies" that are never satisfied, always looking for something or someone to criticize. Could that be Jesus' perspective on us?

Of course, there is always the possibility that others are looking at us. What is their perception of us? Do they see a godly light shining as a city on a hill (Matthew 5:14-16)? When they need a different perspective on their lives, are we the kind of person from whom they ask advice? Do others in the congregation want to emulate us due to how they view our lives, our marriages, our families?

How do we discover how we should view life, ourselves, others, marriage, family life, spirituality, and so forth? We need God's perspective, and there is only one way to get it - READ OUR BIBLES!

Let's go back to the original illustration. What is our perspective on what is truly valuable? Are we rich or poor? “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). According to God, we are rich spiritually, and that should always color our perspective. So, is our mindset (Colossians 3:2) from this world or from heaven? On Judgment Day, our Eternal Father will have His Son (John 5:22) ask us, "How was your trip? What did you learn?" What will our perspective be?

Perry D. Hall