Perspective & Perception

As usual, this entry is written on the fly, but it's a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately. It seems to me that much of our lives would be right if we could grasp these two concepts: perspective & perception.

Merriam-Webster defines perspective as "the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance." The really great artists have an accurate sense of perspective. They have an ability to not only see an object or scene as it is, but as it relates to the setting. Remember how as children, we tended to draw everything on the same plane. Houses, trees, flowers - we had no concept of near and far. As we grew, at least for some of us, we began to develop a sense of perspective, and soon clouds and trees were drawn smaller and higher up on the page to show distance.

As Christians, it's so important to gain God's perspective on things. We're often so full of our own feelings and emotions about issues and problems. Really small insignificant issues loom like giants from our point of view, consuming much of our time and energy, while the truly significant matters, things that matter to God, get shoved off to a mental corner to collect dust. Honestly, sometimes I find myself fretting over a small monetary expenditure and yet I can't seem to devote some time and prayer to improving some relationships. I wish I could tell you I have learned to see things from God's perspective but I'm a long ways off. But lately this awareness has caused me to at least stop and prayerfully consider God's perspective. And it's making a difference in how I pray and think about things.

Maybe tomorrow I'll share some thoughts on the other "P" word: perception. For now, I want to head back to that amazing viewfinder, God's word, and continue to seek to align my perspective with His.