Take the first picture for instance. You look at it and wonder how they made that huge boulder float in the air. "Photoshop" may be your first thought. But it really is as simple as turning the photo right-side up. There was no trick, you are just not seeing it the way it was meant to be seen.
Now the next one. I love this one! So clever!! It looks like the woman is in an airplane appreciating a nice view on her way somewhere amazing. But when you step back, you realize she just put a plastic step-stool over her head and taken a close-up photo. It got me! There's another aspect of perspective too. Perspective determines outlook. See the photo that says “You Matter Don’t Give Up”? There isn't any punctuation to help us know how it is meant to be read.
If you read it normally from left to right it looks like it says “You Don’t Matter Give Up!” This was posted in a hallway of a school, and I am sure that is NOT the message they were trying to convey! But for a student whose mind is in a bad place, that’s exactly what it could be saying to them. The information provided is the same, but how we read it will influence our course of action.
How about this sentence: 'Woman without her man is nothing.' There are a few ways we can punctuate it that actually make it say two completely different things.
1. Woman, without her man, is nothing.
2. Woman; without her, man is nothing.
It's all in what we believe, and what we're trying to convey. Our perspective shapes how we approach these phrases, and what we see when we read them.
If we aren't careful, we can do the same thing with the Word of God. If we come to God's Word anticipating it will tell us something, (like a Magic 8 Ball: perhaps we want confirmation for a decision we are making), then we will surely find what we are looking for. Every verse we read, in some way, confirms our decision. Even the ones that don't, we can rationalize, or convince ourselves that it DOES say what we want. We read what we WANT to be there rather than what actually IS there.
If we are going to have a proper perspective on anything in life (even those things we're convinced are right and good for us but might not be), we must come to the Bible as a student. We must ask the Holy Spirit of God to teach us, to show us what He wants us to learn. Not come with preconceived notions, or with all the sermons we've ever heard on a passage pulled to the forefront of our minds before we read. We have to be open to being taught something new, because God is the best one to tell us what His Word means.
This comes with maturity. There's a humbleness of heart and mind that must be in place before we can be taught. If we approach the Word of God like we would a political debate with someone, we aren't open to listening. We're preparing rebuttals for everything we hear, rather than taking it in and thinking on it. Especially if we're convinced we already know what they believe and what they're trying to say.
Is that not the epitome of arrogance?
God wants us to have discernment. The ability to judge between right and wrong, or right and ALMOST right. There are a million issues floating around out there that we need to wade through. Having the wisdom of the Word of God behind us will make it easier to stay the course, and walk on the right path. We won't be swayed to the wrong by what we THINK is the right way, or lead others in the wrong way.
God has given us everything we need to know to navigate through life, to have the right perspective, and discern what is good and true. But we have to be a student to receive it!
2 Peter 1:3-9
(3) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
(4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
(5) And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
(6) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
(7) And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
(8) For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(9) But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-24
(21) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(22) Abstain from all appearance of evil.
(23) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(24) Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
1 John 4:1-6
(1) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
(2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
(3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
(4) Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
(5) They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
(6) We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
2. Woman; without her, man is nothing.
It's all in what we believe, and what we're trying to convey. Our perspective shapes how we approach these phrases, and what we see when we read them.
If we aren't careful, we can do the same thing with the Word of God. If we come to God's Word anticipating it will tell us something, (like a Magic 8 Ball: perhaps we want confirmation for a decision we are making), then we will surely find what we are looking for. Every verse we read, in some way, confirms our decision. Even the ones that don't, we can rationalize, or convince ourselves that it DOES say what we want. We read what we WANT to be there rather than what actually IS there.
If we are going to have a proper perspective on anything in life (even those things we're convinced are right and good for us but might not be), we must come to the Bible as a student. We must ask the Holy Spirit of God to teach us, to show us what He wants us to learn. Not come with preconceived notions, or with all the sermons we've ever heard on a passage pulled to the forefront of our minds before we read. We have to be open to being taught something new, because God is the best one to tell us what His Word means.
This comes with maturity. There's a humbleness of heart and mind that must be in place before we can be taught. If we approach the Word of God like we would a political debate with someone, we aren't open to listening. We're preparing rebuttals for everything we hear, rather than taking it in and thinking on it. Especially if we're convinced we already know what they believe and what they're trying to say.
Is that not the epitome of arrogance?
God wants us to have discernment. The ability to judge between right and wrong, or right and ALMOST right. There are a million issues floating around out there that we need to wade through. Having the wisdom of the Word of God behind us will make it easier to stay the course, and walk on the right path. We won't be swayed to the wrong by what we THINK is the right way, or lead others in the wrong way.
God has given us everything we need to know to navigate through life, to have the right perspective, and discern what is good and true. But we have to be a student to receive it!
2 Peter 1:3-9
(3) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
(4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
(5) And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
(6) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
(7) And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
(8) For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(9) But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-24
(21) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(22) Abstain from all appearance of evil.
(23) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(24) Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
1 John 4:1-6
(1) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
(2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
(3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
(4) Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
(5) They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
(6) We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
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