Our perspective is how we evaluate an event according to our point of view. Perspectives can be diverse, multifaceted and any combination of secular, religious, non biblical, biblical, scientific and or spiritual. But whatever circumstance I find myself in, as much as possible, I want to align my point of view with truths and principles I find in Scripture. And here’s why. 

    What We Plan

Though we set goals, make plans and work hard, we do not control the outcome of our efforts. If we did, none of us would experience setbacks, disappointments and surprises. And although personal pursuits come with the possibility of failure, pain, loss and frustrating challenges, we don’t have any more control over the outcome of our lives if we simply sit and watch the world go by. Things happen in life, whether we participate or not. 

A man named Joseph once said to his siblings, “You planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good.” This guy is my role model for holding true to a biblical or otherworldly point of view. And here’s why. 

First of all, Joe’s brothers were jealous of him. Their father favored Joe above all the rest. As a result of their envy, they kidnapped him and faked his death. Then, they sold him into slavery. 

For a while, life was good for Joe because his owner made him the CEO of his business. But then a scandal arose and he was accused of adultery. And though he was not guilty, his owner sent him off to prison. 

Even while Joe was in prison he was still admired for his character and made CEO of the jailhouse. Eventually, his godly character was noted by the head kahuna of the country. He was freed from prison and once again made CEO, this time over an entire empire. 

Still holding a very high and respected position in the kingdom, Joe crossed paths with his brothers, the very ones who had introduced pain, calamity and distress into his life.  And though Joe was in a position to inflict punishment upon his brothers and to right the wrongs that had been done against him he did not. How come? Because from his perspective, they had intended wickedness but the wickedness did not win over.

Joe knew, understood and believed that God, not his brothers, were not the blessed controller of his life. 

Why bother broadening our perspective? A perspective that settles on a viewpoint that is restricted to our humanness produces a viewpoint that only goes as far as we can see. But a biblical point of view takes us far beyond ourselves which is where we need to go for a better view.