Changing Perspective

Not long ago I was dressing up for some event and wanted to wear a certain pair of earrings. I went to get them from my jewelry box only to discover that one of them was missing. I looked all over the dresser and the floor, but couldn’t find the other one, so reluctantly chose a different pair. A couple of days later, I went through a similar search, but left frustrated. Later, I came back and decided to do a more thorough search. I searched the floor, felt under the cabinet and looked under the bed. I picked up everything on my dresser and looked under it. I rifled through every item there, but still couldn’t locate that crazy, rotten, little earring that now seemed to be hiding from me on purpose. I decided to give up again. I turned to go, but as I did so, took one last glance in the mirror. Suddenly, there it was! Right there, in the mirror, hanging from the backside of one of my glass candleholders, was my lost earring! How it got there, I didn’t know, nor care. I had finally found it!

Strange how we can be looking for something—even diligently searching for it—but it can still continue to elude us. I never considered using the mirror as a way to enhance my search—as a way of gaining a different perspective. And yet, even though I only changed my perspective for only a brief moment, my eyes immediately spotted the object of my search. I think our search for God can be very much like my search for my lost earring. We keep a picture in our mind of what we think He’s like, hoping that when we come across Him we’ll recognize Him. We look everywhere we think He might be hiding, only to discover He isn’t in any of those places. We become frustrated—even angry—that He is hiding from us (on purpose, of course) and decide to give up.

Consider for a moment, a different perspective on this issue. Consider the possibility that God isn’t hiding from us. Consider the possibility that God is actually trying to get our attention. Consider the possibility that the picture we have in our mind of what God is like is so flawed that we simply aren’t able to recognize Him when He shows Himself to us. I invite you to evaluate some of your ideas about God—recognizing them for what they are—and then try to think about them with me from a slightly different perspective. Perhaps, like my lost earring, God has actually been in plain sight all along.

"Don't Judge Me."

I was watching a show the other day, called The Secret Lives of Women (one I probably shouldn't have been watching, truth be known) about "swingers"--couples who have sex with other couples. See, I always thought the word "swinger" meant someone who liked to dance a lot. Shows how naive I can be. Anyway, they engage in group sex, trans-gender sex, etc... I watched it until the end, waiting to see if they ever came on with a disclaimer of any sort about the ramifications of such a lifestyle. They didn't--not at all. Everything said was in full support of it. One lady actually said, "If you have a good marriage, this [having multiple sex partners] can make it stronger." (She wasn't married, by the way.) There were no warnings and barely a bit of cautionary advice. On the contrary, they were actually trying to get more people to try this lifestlye. Then, at the end, each of the three ladies got a chance to give her last little plug for swinging--and this is what one of them said, "People sometimes think what we do is immoral. It makes me sad when people judge me that way."

Whoa! Wait a minute! Since when do "thinking" and "judging" have the same definition? Who is judging her just by thinking that what she's doing is wrong? If I think murder is wrong does that mean I'm actually passing judgment over murderers? Certainly, not! What a rediculous notion! Furthermore, there are two completely different subjects here--the person and the act. She is insinuating that just because someone thinks her actions are wrong, that they are somehow passing judgement on her, the person. Nope! Two different mental functions entirely.

So, where does this idea come from? People have taken a verse out of the Bible and maligned it nearly beyond recognition. Here's the verse (in context, for a change):

Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Obviously, the "judging" referred to here has absolutely nothing to do with ignoring immorality (as Miss Swinger on the show seemed to believe), or Jesus wouldn't have gone on to give the proper method for helping a brother out of immorality. In fact, He doesn't even say, "Never judge". It actually seems like He's giving us guidelines to do it in correctness of heart. Still, since we rarely have perfectly pure intentions, it's safe to assume that this kind of judging is usually not a good idea--especially in light of the warning that He gives that if we act hypocritically, it will come back to bite us on the butt. It is clear, though, that we are supposed to help each other knock bad habits and encourage each other toward right living--just making sure that what we do is out of love and from a correct perspective (i.e. not being ourselves entrapped in the sin, therefore making ourselves hypocrites.) There are many passages, actually, that discuss this.

I went ahead and looked up the word for "judge" in this passage in the original Greek. The word is κρίνω, pronounced"kree-no", meaning: "distinquish, i.e. decided (mentally or judicially); by impl. to try, condemn, punish:--avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think." Most of these words imply some kind of passing of judgement upon another person, as in condemning them, either mentally or in deed. We understand that we're not supposed to do that--that is, pass judgement upon others (the people) . This would be kind of like saying, "You're going to hell for that." Not only is such a phrase unlikely to receive any positive, healthy response, it isn't especially accurate, either.

Now that we know what we're not supposed to do, let's look and see what attitude we're suppposed to have toward the "act"--sinfulness. Notice, too, the context:

Romans 12:9-10 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."


"Hate what is evil." Now, that's a pretty strong phrase. We're not supposed to ignore it, make excuses for it or pat it on the head. We're supposed to HATE it! Hate what is evil! How are we supposed to know right from wrong, though, if everyone around us is saying, "When you think what I'm doing is immoral, that means you're judging me"?


Here's a tip to survive this life and this century with your conscience intact: "DON'T ALLOW ANYONE TO STRIP AWAY YOUR ABILITY TO DISCERN BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG!"


I admit it: I think what these people on the show were doing is morally wrong. Not only that, it made my skin crawl; it was highly disgusting. The thought of sharing my husband with several women and a few men would be enough to make me go into a naseau coma, if there were such a thing. It's wrong; I hate it. But, I don't hate those people. Actually, quite the contrary, I wish for only their best. (Of course, my idea of what's best--a loving, open, dynamic relationship with God--and their idea of what's best--great sex with whoever walks in the door--are two different things.)

If it's wrong; it's wrong. Avoid it. You don't have to berate anyone else about it; just make sure you and those in your care avoid it. Don't apologize for your standards. Don't sacrifice your conscience on the altar of Political Correctness. Remember, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." That statement is very true. There's a trend in this nation that's telling us that truth is relative. "There's no absolute truth." Well, even that statment, "There's no abosolute truth", is an absolute statement. Recognize fraud when you see it. It's there.

Honestly, though, the only way you're going to keep a healthy conscience is to give it into the keeping of the only One who is truly good--God. We can be deceived; God can't be.

The Cost of Following Jesus Christ

How much does it cost to be a Christian--a "follower of Jesus Christ"? Nothing and everything. The gift of God's forgiveness and acceptance is completely free, but also carries the highest price--your love and your trust.

This is a concept that is often misunderstood in non-Christian circles. Of course, it's not surprising, since they hear: "Jesus' love and forgiveness is a free gift", but then they see us going to church regularly, participating in all kinds of service projects, denying ourselves certain worldly pleasures and giving vast amounts of money to various Christian organizations. Sure seems like there's a price to me!

Here's an example, though, that might help clear this up a little:

We are like a baby bird in a nest. The nest is our comfort zone, where we can do whatever we like without having to believe in anything else or trust in anyone else (except for Mamma bird, but she just seems to show up at the right times and we don't know why--like our dependence on this beautiful world we live in).

However, eventually we must make a choice: leave the nest, get out on the branch where we're much less comfortable, or stay in the nest for the rest of our lives and stagnate. The choice is free to us and a relatively safe one. Yes, a great gust of wind could come up and knock us out of the tree, but while crawling out of the nest onto the branch, we're, at least, still on solid territory. This is like accepting Christ. It takes a step of faith, a risk. All we have to do, though, is to believe in Him--to accept His forgiveness for our sins, to trust in His promises to meet us where we are and to grow us in Him throughout the days, weeks and years to come--to never leave us. At that moment, sitting there on the branch, we're what Christians call "saved". All of the mysteries and promises and gifts of God are, at that moment, fully available to us. We are in His grace and in open communication with God. If we were to die at that moment, heaven would be ours, no matter what misdeeds we'd committed in the past.

But, let's say we don't die then--at the moment of belief. What happens next? Here's where the cost comes in. We're sitting on that branch, out of the nest, but very worried about what comes next. Well, then Mamma bird (God) comes up behind us and gives us a nudge. We fight back, not wanting to leave our safe perch, and we somehow manage to keep our talons securely on the branch. Being out of the nest is enough, right?

Mamma bird gives us another nudge. This time she's more insistent. We fight back and scoot farther down the branch away from her. What is she trying to do, anyway? Kill me? Hasn't she seen how far a drop it is? She must be nuts!

Again, though, here she comes! We brace ourselves, but this time she nudges us so hard that we loose our grip and start to fall. Is this why we got out of the nest? Just to fall? What a terrible trick! But then something happens that we didn't expect. We realize that we have wings. We open them and begin to fly. Suddenly, we realize that sitting in the nest and sitting on the branch were nothing compared to the miracle of flight! What glory! What exhilaration! So, this is what Mamma wanted for us all along!

Is there a cost? Certianly! It costs you everything! It costs your love, your trust and your utter dependence. What is there in life that has more value than these things? I can't think of a thing. This is what God demands from us--everything of value.

When we say that there's no cost, we mean that belief is a choice that you make. It doesn't cost you any money; it doesn't cost you good works; it doesn't cost you any time; it doesn't cost you any fixing up of yourself beforehand. The gift is free in this regards, because love and trust are not a commodities. God will accept you exactly how you are at that moment, no matter what you've done in the past or how you are choosing to live your life today. ...But He won't leave you how He finds you. He desires so much more for your life! He wants us to fly--no, soar! Can you trust Him to guide you one step at a time?