Perspective and Perception

It does amaze me to look at how the world has come to embrace different people, places, and issues and how things are perceived by the masses. For example, the majority of people are surprised when someone does as though they said they would because we have grown accustomed to people saying one thing and doing another and it’s fair to say that this is not just the case in political circles but is as true with every day people.

Love him or hate him, President Trump is doing what he said he would and many people personally hate him for this. Imagine, a politician doing as they said they would but when I look at the people around me and my neighborhood and community, I cannot help but think of what people think of me and what I do. This is not to say that I care what others think of me because scripture does tell us that people will think differently of us if we choose to follow Christ and I accept this but I know that people are so quick to think the worse of us despite what we have or have not done.

Because of issues like this, I have done a lot of thinking and thought to myself what if, rather than looking at others and seeing them from a worldly perspective or viewing them with a worldly perception, what if we saw people the way God sees them? Remember, we are created by God and created the way we are for a specific reason. This reason has nothing to do with fitting into a worldly perception of being viewed positively in a worldly perspective by standing out for God: “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (John 8:47).

This is not to say that I have never done wrong or have always done my best and I’ll be the first to point out that I do more wrong than anyone else and I have not always been the best person but I am thankful that God sees me differently. Personally, I am thankful that God allows me a second, third, fourth, and on and on chance as God is faithful (very faithful) to each of us. For just a moment, think of what Peter said in Acts 10:34: “….I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality.”

God does not show favoritism or prefer one person over another as He loves us all. He gives each and every one of us the same opportunities at eternal life despite having different talents: “The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness And yet I know that one fate befalls them both” (Ecclesiastes 2:14). The purpose of this article is to show that, as Christians, we need to view this world differently than the rest and that goes for the people here below. Although it’s not easy many times, we have to show all people love and understanding even if our understanding is that they are not lovable.

Of course, this does not mean to sacrifice who we are in Christ for these people as this should be the most important part of us but we should not act like many Christians and now walk or talk with a certain person because they are a bit different. From my personal experiences, I have heard people talk about others with tattoos or piercings or people who smoke and/or drink and justify not associating with them by their actions. Yes, we are to be careful with who we allow into our homes and our lives but Christ walked with those who were seen as different because Christ does not have a preference as we are all His children and we see this time and time again throughout scripture which reminds us, today, that we need to see things from a Godly perspective and hold a Godly perception.