What do you think of when you hear the word perspective? Artists, architects, and photographers may think of “the technique or process of representing on a plane or curved surface the spatial relation of objects as they might appear to the eye.” (Merriam Webster)
Perhaps if you are a teacher, lecturer, or politician, you may think of perspective as, “a mental view or prospect”, or “the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance”, or simply “point of view”. (Also Merriam Webster)
In any case, perspective is a big part of our lives. We utilize physical perspective on a daily basis. We need perspective to navigate when we walk or drive. Our spatial awareness is critical to keep us from bumping into things. (And we really don’t want to bump into things in our cars!) We’ve learned however, that our perception is affected by factors such as distance, and because of that, we adjust our thinking accordingly. For example, an airplane in the sky is tiny. An airplane at the airport is giant. The airplane did not change its size, but our perspective changed. When you were a kid, did you run down the railroad tracks to see the point where they came together? I did. And when I got there, the tracks were as far apart as they were where I started. Thus we recognize that perspective influences our viewpoint.
Light and dark also affect our perspective. Driving during the day is exponentially easier than driving at night for me. Darkness limits my field of vision and changes my perspective. And for someone who navigates by landmarks, this greatly limits my driving capacity. How about walking through your house in the dark? As familiar as those surroundings are to you, you can still bump into something because you can’t see it. Darkness can intimidate our perspective.
We understand physical perspective. Things are not always exactly as they appear. But what about our point of view mentally? So much, if not all, of our thought processes are based on our perspective. Consider where you grew up, how you were raised, your education, your career, any and all of these things have played a role in your mental perspective. They have been factors in your decision making process over the years. The people who have been a part of our lives, situations that we’ve faced, our experiences and the things we were taught have all influenced our mental perspective. Consequently, everyone’s perspective is a little different. And this is okay because we are and should be individuals. Bottom line, our mental perspective is a summation of all the experiences we’ve had in our lives, what we’ve been taught, and the corresponding decisions we’ve made.
Another thing about our mental perspective is that it can change. We probably all have experienced this in our lives. Let’s say you were raised in the country on a farm. Your perspective on life is based on farm living. But you grow up and move to the city. City life is very different, and you must adjust your lifestyle. You now have two environments influencing your perspective, so it has to expand and change. Take it even further, you get married, you start a family, you move to the suburbs. All these things actively impact your perspective and bring many changes to it.
Now in the course of all this living, we form opinions and hold on to beliefs, which are directly related to our perspectives. For example, I grew up in suburbia. And from my perspective, it was a great place to grow up. So, when I had children, I wanted to raise them in a suburban environment. That opinion was formed because of my perspective. Unfortunately, negative opinions can be formed from perspectives as well. I have a friend who came from a very strict religious background. As a young adult, she wanted nothing to do with religion because from her perspective, it was too hard to follow all those nonsensical rules. She got burned out. So for many years, she held on to her opinion about religion until one day she heard the Word of God that set her free. She is now completely committed to the truth of God’s Word. Her perspective has totally changed.
Have you ever known anyone who always thought that the world was out to get them? That opinion was likely formed after a series of adverse events colored that person’s perspective. We cannot control every event around us, but we can control our thoughts and opinions. And when those thoughts and opinions are based on the positive truths of God’s Word, our perspective will correspond to that. And we will find that the positive truths of God’s Word will deliver us so that we no longer need to be bound in those negative perspectives.
Things in the world are constantly challenging our point of view. Our minds are constantly being flooded with information designed to influence our perspectives. Therefore, people can find themselves like the waves of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed to and fro. There is only one unmovable truth and that is the Word of God. When our perspective is based on that, we can be steadfast and secure. We will be able to see things in their proper perspective and keep ourselves grounded.
There was a little story circulating online about a father using perspective in seeing an airplane in the sky and then up close at an airport, to show his son that things are bigger the closer you are to them. The father further explained to his son that God is like that. He is bigger when you are closer to Him. This little story blessed me because God is so BIG to all of us who know Him. Here’s a great verse:
Psalm 145:18
The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
Nigh means near, near in place, near in time and near in relationship. I’ve heard it said that God is closer than your very breath to those who are born again. When we keep our perspective aligned with that knowledge, we need never be shaken by anything that the world throws at us.
Proper perspective, balance and harmony are found in God’s Word. When our thoughts are bonded with God’s thoughts, we will see those qualities evidenced in our lives. We can withstand the onslaught of worldly confusion being hurled at us daily and we can enjoy the peace of mind that only God’s truth can provide.
Note to my readers: Thanks for reading! You have no idea how thankful I am for your efforts to read my blog! I am approaching two years of this adventure and the journey has been amazing to me. However, as life happens, other things are vying for my time. So, I will be posting every two weeks from now on. I hope that you will continue to follow my writings and that they will continue to bless you. I am pursuing some other opportunities that I hope I will be able to share with you as well. In the meantime, thank you again for reading. God bless you. I love you. You are the best!