A Matter of Perspective -Kat

Good morning lovelies,

What is perspective? Have you thought about it?

According to Dictionary.com, perspective is: "the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship." Alright, there are two words in that definition I'd like to look at: the words one and meaningful.

The word one, here, is referring to one person.  This makes the word "perspective" a personal word. Perspective is unique to you and it's unique to me. Your perspective will not ever be the same as another person's perspective. You can agree with another person on a general perspective (for example, you and your best friend both believe very strongly that a best friend should be given the right to eat the food in your fridge), but your individual perspectives as to why that's appropriate won't ever be exactly the same. Why is that?

You, as a person, are a collection of the experiences you've had. Your beliefs, disbeliefs, fears, hopes and quirks all stem from the life you have lived up to this point right now. The next word is meaningful, which literally means full of meaning. Whether intentional or not, you have created meaning for everything that has happened to you. We very rarely accept, "It just happened," as an answer. And even when that is our answer, that's the meaning we have created for the event. When we make memories or learn, we have to put meaning behind words, actions, images or feelings. This is just how life works; it's not a bad thing! You have to make meaning with things to understand them.

Your perspective is personal and it's formed by what you've created meaning with. So why on Earth am I telling you this?

When we study God's word, we don't have the full story. We don't have God's full perspective. Please don't misunderstand me; the Bible is God's word and it is perfect in its own right. However, we don't have all of the details. Ecclesiastes tells us, "..I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out" (Ecclesiastes 9:17). I can guarantee that we would not fully understand if the entirety of God's perspective were written out. To write out the entire history of what God has done, how and why he did it or what exactly he thinks about different things we would probably need every single piece of paper that ever has been or will be made. That still wouldn't be enough! And then we have the problem that written words can not express everything. All they can do is try to explain in ways we humans can understand.

So while what we do have is perfect, it simply is not the entire story. And what we do have is a big collection of words. If each person has created different meanings for words, our understandings of the same words will be different. You may have seen this illustration before but stick with me.

Cat.

When you read the word "cat," you may think of your pet cat. Suzy may think of the little tiger cub she saw at the zoo, but Bobby would think of the mother tiger he saw while at the zoo with Suzy. I could think of myself because people call me "Kat," or Jack could think of the angry cat meme he sees all over the internet.

Do you understand my point? No matter how general or specific the word is, we have all created different meanings for every word. Sure there are specific definitions. But that does not remove the fact we have different meanings. This is not a matter of right and wrong. This is a matter of us each being given different life experiences.

When we get into disagreements and debates with people, it becomes easy to state a fact and expect that other person is going to automatically agree with us because we've given them fact. But if perspective is built on individual meaning, the conclusion that fact leads you to may not be the same conclusion the other person is lead to. We must remember when we talk to people that things are not as simple as a word on a page. It is possible (and, I believe, necessary) to understand someone's perspective, to examine what they're saying from an unbiased standpoint, and still disagree. Perspective can be changed; but first, the perspective has to be understood. I have to know what my perspective is before I can change the way I see a situation; I also have to know what Suzy's perspective is before I can show her the bigger picture.

I pray that I remember my brother is a different person whenever I must approach him about something we disagree on. I pray I learn to seek my sister's perspective so I know how to respectfully guide her to a better relationship with God. I pray my perspective always reflects the way God's perspective might. Lastly, I pray we all start working on our hearts so that we grow in the likeness of our Savior each and every day.

I love you dear sisters,
Kat

The Book Behind the Cover -Mia

              Hi friends!

              I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” before, right? I know I’ve heard it my whole life. Have you ever wondered why people say that so much?

              I think I know why. Now, I may be totally wrong, but I think it’s because that phrase is a really hard one to live by. First impressions of people give us the only information we’ve got to go on for a person until we get to know them better, and until then, the first impression gives us our solid image of that person. But, as this old saying warns, the first impression might not give you an accurate image of the person.

              First impressions can be good, they can be bad, they can be spot on, or they can be deceiving. It’s really a toss-up; until you really get to know someone, there’s no telling. My guess is that’s why the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” came about. In John 7:24, even Jesus warns us, “Do not judge by appearances…” It’s simple to go wrong when just looking at the outside, or how one may present himself initially.

              Now, this misinterpretation can be completely harmless. The differences you discover may be completely trivial… Or they may be very important. Especially if they concern matters of the Bible.

              For example, ladies, have you ever had an acquaintance before who, the more time you spend around them, realize they weren’t exactly the Christian you thought they were when you first met? I know I have, and it’s really a very eye-opening, frightening experience, to be honest. If you aren’t careful, having that kind of experience can really rattle your faith- trust me, I know firsthand. Jesus knows this as well, and warned his disciples (and by extent, us as well) to “beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” in Matthew 7:15. Of course, we aren’t specifically talking about false prophets, here. But can’t this verse be true of certain people as well?

              In the next verse, he continues to say “You will recognize them by their fruits.” “Fruits” here means works or actions: Jesus is essentially saying to wait and see what their doings say about them before making an assessment of their character based on first impression alone.

              There are bad people out there, sisters, but I don’t want to discourage you in any way from meeting new people. In fact, that is a must for Christians- how else will we spread the Word of God?

              And after all, this “first impressions are sometimes only skin deep” thing goes the other way as well. One may make a truly awful first impression and be a wonderful person in reality. It’s always best to at least give someone a chance- they might prove their first impression was accurate, or they might turn out to be a great potential friend. Their reluctance to talk to you may just be shyness. Their frown may have just been caused by a bad day that had nothing to do with you personally. You never really know what’s going on in their life when you first meet them.

              Even when someone makes a decent first impression, there is still so much more to that person than you know. As Paul said in Hebrews 13:2, “some have entertained angels unawares.” I don’t pretend to know if this is meant to be taken literally or not, but as Jesus Himself said in Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” Better to be safe than sorry, right? People deserve the benefit of the doubt before judgment.

              I suppose I said all of this to say what was summed up quite well in those seven words: “don’t judge a book by its cover.” As we live our daily lives, ladies, let’s remember the importance of not simply taking things- and people- at face value.

                    Mia