Perspective is viewing life through a particular lens. Our perspective shapes how we understand our identity, our purpose and the world that swirls around us. But, how do we decide which lens to view life through?

  Experience Counts

From my teen years to young adult years, I viewed life through the lens shaped by the culture of my day as well as my own concoction of reasoning. 

For instance, back in the 1970s, Twiggy was the most popular and influential female model for teen girls. So, of course I wanted to look like her. But, in order to look like a skinny, yet breathing twig, I had to pop speed. It was an easy and inexpensive drug to acquire, and it took my appetite away. But, the detriment to popping speed was that coming down from the drug was a downer. It left me feeling lethargic, snarky and hungry. 

Another popular and socially acceptable drug of the day was pot. Smoking pot gave me a wonderful buzz most of the time, but other times, it caused paranoia. I never knew what to expect when sharing a joint with a friend or sibling, but once you were stoned, you could not make yourself un-stoned. You simply had to wait until the pot wore off and gave your senses back to you.

Then there was the reasoning that I concocted for myself. It resulted from the trauma of my father’s suicide. I’d trusted him, he abandoned me, therefore, no one was trustworthy, neither was anyone reliable. It was up to me, and me alone to create my own success and happiness.

Added to that, I believed that God was unreliable and not worthy of my trust. I believed that he could have, if he’d wanted to, stopped my dad from ending his life. But because God did not use his power to intervene, God was not reliable or trustworthy either.

Having allowed my own reasoning and the popular culture of my day to shape my beliefs, priorities and values left me depleted. My landscape was barren. My perspective was hopeless.

But, that is not where my story ended. Instead, this is where my point of view is altered. 

Ready to literally follow in the footsteps of my father and end my life, I was surprised and amazed by God who suddenly showed up in my life. In the second that it would have taken me to choose to end my life, my perspective shifted from a hopeless and earthly one to a one that is beyond this world and its limited scope. 

No longer do I rely on myself. Instead, I rely on God who I’ve found to be trustworthy and reliable. No longer are my beliefs concocted from a combination of present day culture or my own reasoning. Instead, my perspective is shaped by a lens created from the truths found in scripture. I no longer feel hopeless. No longer is my landscape barren.

Why bother considering our perspective? When we stop and consider the results of our perspective, then will we notice our landscape. If we find ourselves living hopeless and fruitless lives it might be time to consider looking through a lens manufactured from the word of God.