Seek What Is Good

What do you see?

I bet we would be amazed by what some people first notice in this picture. For some, it will be a sunrise, for others, a sunset. Someone will notice the clouds, someone else the blue sky. One person will key in on the birds on the right, another will pick out the people standing on the hill to the left. You may perceive an empty road, or a path to unknown opportunities. The guardrail, the town in the background, the bare rock, the vegetation . . . There's much to see here.

What's amazing is that we all see the same thing, but many of use will focus on different aspects. That's the difference between what we see and what we perceive, and much of that depends on what we're looking for.

You may not even know, consciously, what you're looking for. Your perceptions are influenced by a myriad of factors. For example, how you feel is often going to dictate what you see. In a good mood, you'll probably see the sun. Day not going so well? Those clouds could be bringing in a storm. Where the road ends might be a cliff, or perhaps a gentle descent into a glorious villa lit by the sun.

Each of us can look at the same picture and see something different. And believe it or not, we can choose to see what we want.

Life is the same way.

We could each have the same experience, and perceive it a different way. It happens every day. I could have one person say something negative and ruin my whole day. On the other hand, you might brush off that comment as no big deal and instead focus on 10 other things that person or someone else said, and call it a great day. It depends, in large part, on what we're looking for.

That is a choice. We cannot always choose what we see or what we experience, but we can choose how we perceive it. We can choose what we focus on. We can decide what's really important to us.

Here's what the Bible says.

Philippians 4:8 reads, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Read that again. Paul says that we should think about the good things in life. That's all about picking through everything we see and experience and focusing on the positive. Whatever is true. Whatever is honorable. Whatever is pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. These are the things we are to look for in life. These are the things we are to focus on. These are the things we are to see.

There is a conscious effort involved here. Paul is telling us to choose. In this life, we will see good and bad. He tells us to choose to dwell on what is good. And the bad? It's not worth thinking about. Let. It. Go.

Paul tells us that as we go through our days we shouldn't focus on the negative. Don't fret about things which are not true. Don't stew over what is dishonorable. Don't mull over injustice, or obsess over impurity. Do not let what is unlovely block out what is lovely, nor allow the contemptible to push aside the commendable. Never allow the inferior to outweigh the excellent, or permit something unworthy of praise to occupy your mind. Do not waste your energy on these things. Let them go. They're not worth your time.

Seek what is good.

Choose to see beauty rather than ugliness. Focus on what is positive, not the downside. Live your life thinking about those things which are worth thinking about, and leave the rest to rot like the garbage it is. Life is full of those things which are true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and so on. All you have to do is look, and you will find them.

Today, seek what is good. In the verse that follows the one above, Paul says, Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Seek what is good, and the God of peace will be with you. That's sure to change your day.

That's worth remembering!

 

Perspective Matters

What is perspective?

Imagine you look out the window and everything is a blur. Objects move by so quickly they become indistinct blobs. Your eyes don't have time to focus, to pick out one object distinctly before it is gone, replaced by another. From your point of view, the world is rushing by at breakneck speed.

Now imagine standing by a train track as a train races past. Again, your eyes don't have time to focus on one object distinctly before it is gone, replaced by another. Your point of view tells you, once again, that the world is rushing by at breakneck speed.

From both points of view, your immediate environment is still as the world rushes past. Whether seated on the train or standing on the road, you don't seem to be moving, but are you? Your perspective tells you that you're still in both, but in reality in one case you're moving through the world, in the other the world is moving by you.

Our perspective doesn't always give us the whole picture.

Everything we experience, we experience from the perspective of who and where we are. Our perspective is influenced by our life experiences, our understanding of our environment, our biases, our preferences, our mood, our health, our . . . In short, my perspective of the world is my point of view, how I see things. And just like the example above, my point of view doesn't always give me the full picture.

Just think about the many conflicts going on in the world around us. From the perspective of one group, they see the situation clearly. But the group on the other side feels the same. In most cases, both groups cannot be right, and in many cases, neither are completely right. Their perspective is skewed by who and where they are.

On an individual level, the same is true. When I disagree with my wife, she is right. (Just kidding). In reality, we both think we are right. We both have reasons for believing what we believe, for wanting what we want, for saying what we say. Our perspective tells us both we are right, even if we have come to completely opposite conclusions. From my point of view, I am right, and from hers, she is.

What to do?

I don't want to write a blog on conflict resolution. That's not my forte. It'd be easier if everyone just agreed with me, and I bet most of you feel the same (the "me" being you). The problem is, I, and you, are not always right.  

Gasp!

In truth, none of us see the world clearly. Paul says it this way in I Corinthians 13:12:  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. In our humanness, in our selfish mortal state, we really cannot see clearly. It is, in part, a problem of perspective.

We all wear glasses, whether rose-tinted or otherwise. We all see the world from the perspective of "me." We have no other choice. If I'm on the train, that's my perspective. If I'm standing by the tracks, that's my perspective. I can't change it. It is what it is.

What I can do is be aware of my perspective. I can know whether I am on the train or standing by the tracks. I can know if I'm seeing something a certain way because I want a certain outcome. I can know that I'm particularly quarrelsome or irritable today, that I'm biased by my past experiences, that I tend to see certain situations in a certain light. I can understand my perspective, and that will help me to interpret what I am experiencing.

Our perspective matters. It influences not only what we perceive, but how we perceive it. That's huge. Knowing why we see things the way we see them is one step closer to seeing things for how they truly are. And once we see more clearly, we can act more appropriately.

And that is worth thinking about!

With Him--Anything. Without Him-Nothing

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

What an empowering verse. I can do all things--anything, everything--through the power of Christ. The God of the universe enables me to achieve the impossible. Nothing in His will is beyond my reach. No mountain too high, no valley too low. No challenge too hard, no burden too heavy. Anything. Through Christ.

Sometimes we do, and should, wield that verse like a sword in battle. It is truly the power of God in our hands, at our disposal. It is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). It is the sword with which Christ slays His enemies (Revelation 20:15). It is the word of God, living and active, sharper than any double edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).

And it is, itself, double edged.

Apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:5

This is the double-edge of God's word, the edge we sometimes seem to forget. We can do all things, but not of ourselves. According to Christ in the verse above, on our own we can do nothing. Not a single thing. Not of value at least.

Sure, on our own we can accomplish much. Much sin. Much hurt. Much damage. But we cannot do a solitary act worthy of God's glory without His help. Isaiah says in 64:6 that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags when done apart from God. On our own, that's the best we can do.

With Him I can do anything. Without Him I can do nothing.

I like the first part of that. I grasp onto that promise when times are hard, when the battle is fierce, when the path is steep. When my confidence wanes, I remember. When my strength fails, I recall. When I don't know, I pray. And He answers.


That's the part I like.

The other side of the sword though? Not so much. You see, I like to accomplish. I like to overcome. I like to do. I love the thought of being able to do anything God wills me to do. I thrill at the prospect of defeating the impossible. I rejoice in victory over "you can't."

My problem, often, is too many "I's." I like. I love. I thrill. I rejoice. I do. I can. I will . . . You get the point. "I" gets in my way of I can do all things because I forget the most important part of that verse--through Christ who strengthens me. I remember that Christ said with Me you will bear much fruit. I far too often skip over the part about without me you can do nothing. I get in the way, and nothing of any good consequence comes of it.

Whatever you face today or in the days to come, remember that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, but without Him, you can do nothing. With Him, anything is possible. Without Him, your best efforts will come to nothing.

That's worth remembering.