It's all About the Perspective

 

         Can we agree that perspectives change per viewer. For instance, one viewer may see a cloud in the sky and see a dragon, where another may see a giraffe. Each person sees things differently and it's all because each viewer has different life experiences. You can take a person who has lived a hard life of constant abuse, being abused and abusing self and others, then they come to Faith in Jesus and make a huge 180 degree change in their life. They have a story now and those around them see the change and follow suit. Then you have a person who grew up in the church, falls away and runs to a life of self. Perspectives of each person dictated a result. One grew up in need and the other knew no need and each had a different attitude towards faith. One saw it as freedom and the other saw it as prison. Because the one grew up knowing what true pain and hardship was, they ran towards salvation. The other became indifferent and callous from being surrounded by hypocrisy. 

Results varied between the two because of perspectives. Take a teenager versus a toddler as another example. A toddler sees their parents as a source of everything. They see the world around them as scary, intimidating and huge. To them, parents are givers of food, comfort, pleasure, love and more. However, when a teenager starts to have a taste of freedom and independence, they start to turn towards the world as a source of their needs instead of their parents. They see parents as a road block to that freedom and bitterness sets in. Like the person who grew up in church, the child now sees flaws in their parents and they run to the world for their needs. Of course each child's perspectives makes them the adult they become. One could come from a supportive family, one could come from a broken one. Each child's perspective molds their hearts, changes their minds, locks them into patterns of phycological issues.

When it comes to each person on the planet, their are literally as many perspectives as there are people. Even in the same household, each child becomes a different adult than their siblings. One instance in all their lives, say a divorce of their parents, could create bitterness in one child's heart and empathy in another. Age differences, things they've heard, outside opinions and emotional ties are all variables, in an infinite amount, that changes a person's perspectives within their hearts.               

That is why we have division and struggles amongst each other. It's the difference of opinion, which is built on difference of perspective, that creates tension between all of us. If I see one way because of my upbringing and another person sees it the opposite way because of theirs, division is created. A difference of opinions is the only cause for all the worlds problems. One person has an opinion that is completely opposite another person's opinion. They look at each other as potential enemies because of it. They don't talk to each other, they whisper gossip about one another, they sway other's opinions about them and all in the name of having different perspectives.

With the differences among all of us, comes those varying opinions and the need to reinforce our opinions. We love to be right and we love to prove ourselves to everyone else. Hence the social media issues. Everyone wants to promote their opinion 24/7/365 and instead of the lounge at work, we now have the internet as our sounding board. Opinions between coworkers was one thing but now we have the world to argue or agree with. That's why it's my opinion that social media is a bad thing. We just aren't mature enough to handle it.

Speaking of mature, what can we do about all these perspectives creating individual opinions? Nothing really. In an ideal world, we would all have the ideal childhood, the ideal parents and the ideal adulthood. However, because of the cascade of individual perspectives through the centuries, we are left with a complete train wreck of attitudes towards one another. The fragility of our world emotionally is so scary it isn't funny. 

Solution = Work

When you come across someone with a difference of opinion than yours, what's your first reaction. Repulsion and the need to defend your own opinion. Right? To term a Star Trek phrase, your shields go up and you get your phasers and torpedoes ready to fire. You immediately show signs of defense. Why is that? Why are we so entrenched in our opinions that we cannot invite the perspective of others into our hearts. We've seen it through organized religion throughout history and into today. A person of ill reputation come into the church to see for their selves what it is all about and they are met with retribution, anger and hate. Why is it so hard to drop our defenses and learn of others. 

We call it empathy, which the dictionary defines as "the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another." Empathy takes something from us. It takes time, it takes change from what we know to what someone else knows. Often times empathy is a one way road. One person can empathize with another but it is rarely reciprocated. To empathize with someone, you learn and explore that persons perspectives without judgement. You just listen and hear. You're never fulfilled but are often burdened with that persons life experiences. True empathy makes one person bare the other person's tragedies and pain. They take on all of their fears and doubts. They see the other person through these things and suddenly, instead of an enemy, they bond as friends. Those that share loss, share bonds. 

This is why we see so many people in defense of their opinions instead of  listening for opportunities of empathy. It takes effort, time, emotion and love. Division is easy, union is hard. Personally, that's why I think God came to Earth in Jesus, to empathize with us, to experience what it's like to be human. He went through life, tragedy, poverty, judgment, pain, loss, grief and death. He immersed Himself in His creation. He loved us enough to change His perspective from a judging Father to a loving Father. 

As God has done, so should we. However, as most of these writings I've done are directed towards me, this one is especially. It is hard to look at someone with empathy and not judgement. What's the old saying, they made their bed now let them lye in it. However, we don't know the whole story and often times their stories are hard to hear. Judgement is so much easier. It takes two seconds to judge, wrongly I might add, and walk away. To stop, show interest and listen is truly a talent I have not achieved yet. 

So in a perfect world, our looks of judgement would be replaced by emphatic love and it would change us one heart at a time and eventually the world. Borders would cease to exist, money would disappear, the opportunity for us to live for each other and not ourselves would take over. Hate, crime, grief and fear would be changed into love. Sound familiar, it's what the Holy Spirit does within us daily. 

Our perspectives changed the moment we said, Jesus I believe in you and they are still changing if we let Him do His work in us. As we have judged others, do we judge God too. Do we throw our opinions and our perspectives in His face and ask that He honor them without us having the slightest empathy for Him. The road goes both ways. I mentioned, empathy rarely flows on a two-way street. One person shares, the other hears yet the sharer is so wrapped up in sharing they usually never hear. In our case with God, we share all our pain when we come to Him in the beginning, we usually never become good listeners though. We continue to share our pain, disappointments and problems but we never sit down and ask God to share Himself with us. 

Jesus wept, He was alone, He needed support in His moments before His trial and death, yet all of His followers fled. Scattered to the wind. See, even they wanted empathy from Jesus but when it was their turn to empathize, they fled in fear. It's often the case but it doesn't have to be. Instead of coming to God in prayer for you, go to Him for Him. Change the script and truly seek Him for Him and not for yourself. If your a parent and your child does something spontaneous for you without provocation, doesn't it melt your heart. Doesn't it fill you with love. So, be spontaneous, go to God in prayer to hear, not to receive but to hear and be surprised.  Again, I'm guilty of not doing this but as these words flowed out of my fingers, I can hear God wanting time with me, without me needing from Him all the time. I just need to listen and change my perspective.

To God be the Glory!   

      

Laying it on the Altar

You may be wondering, photography or God, which is it. You're oscillating back and forth. Well, your right. As my relationship with God oscillates, unfortunately this blog did as well. 

Have you ever had a wilderness experience? I've had several over my years as a Christian and trust me they are no fun. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, it becomes a time of wandering, suffering, disobedience, trials and ultimately, redemption. Some call it a trial of faith or a trial of fire but the process is the same. It's meant to purge the unwanted parts of us out. Like the Israelites, no one over 40 was allowed to enter the promised land. So those that left Egypt, never made it due to their rebellious nature.

This principle is still at work in us today. As we are being changed, called out of Egyptian slavery, which is a type of people not saved, we go through stages of purging. 

The slavery in Egypt is like our slavery to sin before coming to Jesus. Then, like Moses, the Holy Spirit becons us to flee from our sins and slavery and go to the promised land, which is the kingdom of God. Like the Israelites we are required to be full of faith. We no longer get our food or water to feed our desires from Egypt/the world but we are supposed to feed and drink upon Jesus. He said eat and drink of me, this is a reference to the rock bringing forth water or manna appearing on the ground each morning. Jesus is the rock that brings forth a spring of water in us so we thirst no more and He is our food that nourishes us.

However, like the Israelites, we tend to be disobedient and lose sight of the promise. They became dissatisfied and complained. So too did I. I lost sight, became complacent and for it, I've been wandering. 

The distinct difference however between them and us is Jesus. They screwed up, they died, we screw up and the blood is there to cover us. Although, God still wants us to purge out the old life and claim the new so a type of death still takes place. The apostle Paul put it, I die daily. If we are covered, then why do we need or what needs to die? Good question, we have two parts in us. One part is our human nature. Desires of the flesh work in that nature. Lust, greed, and all the bad stuff work in that nature. Then there's God's nature which we receive at the time of our conversion, when we accept Jesus. 

Once we receive Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters us and begins cleaning house. Things we once found desirable, we find repulsive. However, in some cases, God wants us to lay something down of our own volition. Like the offerings of sacrifice, we are to repent or turn away from something that is in our human nature. Which shows our commitment to Him. It's like when Jesus was taken to the wilderness to be tempted. He just received the Holy Spirit and would now be tempted to see if the human nature in Him would respond or if He'd laid it on the altar to be burned.

It's no different with us, trials and temptations are a part of the purging process. We must have our faith tried or it isn't faith. If we go through and come out on the other side, then we have been transformed into a person that has more of the kingdom of God in them. The wilderness is an effective place for reflection and purging. It won't let you go back to Egypt or to the promised land, it is meant for death. The death of the old life so we can walk into the new life.

So, I've been wandering and am now dying to the old. Once the dying is done, I'll walk into the promise. Until then, I die daily.

Photography or God?

Photography was my distraction from death. All Christians must die, spiritually speaking. We all must have the Holy Spirit identify in us, what needs to die. Whether it's a problem with not forgiving or an issue with drinking or any possible issue God finds offensive, it must die.

For me photography was a distraction from what I needed to do. It was my denial. Instead of facing the issue head on, I found a distraction. Mind you, I've not given up photography, it's just not my crutch anymore.

Dieing daily is about denying self, denying that human nature in us all. In the end of self, is God. He's waiting, watching and rooting for us and like Jesus at the end of His temptations, we will be ministered too, uplifted and have a greater relationship with Them.

To God be the Glory!