The Problem of Perspective...

Humility is my favorite character trait in a person. And to be honest, I am not even sure how one gets to a place where humility exudes from them. But there is something very refreshing about a person who can be in the middle of a discussion and say, “Eh, but I could be wrong.” At that very moment instead of thinking I have them right where I want them and it is time to go in for the kill I think, “Well, if you are wrong then maybe I am too. Maybe we are both wrong? Maybe the answers we are looking for are wrong because we are discussing the wrong question.” But on the other hand this humility is the very same thing that leads one to be confident. When the very same person that admits, one time, that they could be wrong looks at you and says that they have put a lot of thought into a matter and are positive that they are on the right side makes you think. Perhaps, I am wrong again. Perhaps this person has a perspective I have never seen. Perhaps I am the one that needs to change.

In this day in age we are constantly talking about the problems we are facing, the economy, homosexual rights, racism, women’s rights. And on every front we are discussing the changes that need to be made to make everything right in the world. If we can just fix the economy and have plenty of money, if we can just let gay people get married then everything will be right in the world, yes? Overnight, we have fixed everything. The changes that had to be made in the world were made quickly and swiftly and to top it off I was right all along. I told you exactly what we needed to do and here it is. These were the solutions to the world’s problems. Except, no. Once these problems are fixed we will be presented with a whole different set of problems that will be threatening our way of life. These problems will crash upon us, ready to tell us that we were wrong all along, again. So we enter into more discussions with more solutions that will be ready to change the world. And all along problems keep on popping up, threatening our lives and we keep on changing the world around us to make things better and we are caught in a never ending cycle of fear and triumph. And all along one thing has stayed consistent. We have.

Probably most people, in response to that thought, “Yes! Consistency!” But I propose that if something is consistently broken then consistency most likely isn’t for the best. So yes, I said it. You are broken. As well am I. We all are, each and everyone in a different way. So perhaps it is best that we didn’t consistently stay the same. If we are constantly faced with problems that are threatening our very existence then maybe the problem was never very external. The problem has been inside us all along. And it is time for a change. To be philosophical for a moment and to explain why every problem is a bit of an internal problem we have to understand how we see the world. It is impossible for us to view any exterior factors without us first viewing them through our “lens”. Some places, call this a “worldview”. I prefer to call it us. In our heads we interpret and perceive the world different than everyone around us. Hence, why we have so many differing opinions even though the external factors that we have are the same. So we take these factors and through who we are and what we believe we interpret these so that we can form an opinion. So, you are just as much a part of any problem as any external factors are. Somewhere along the way Christians have forgotten that the very first problem is within our hearts. To change the world around us Christians must first change ourselves. (I can already imagine the prideful response that last sentence elicits. If your God looks a lot like you might I question that, in fact, you are your very own God.) Rest assured, that whomever the next president is will neither fix all of our problems, nor cause more. Perhaps we are just all asking the wrong questions. Instead of focusing so hard on all these external “problems” we are facing maybe we should look internal and see what the problems are. When we walk out of the darkness that is ourselves all the external issues that are causing problems might not be that threatening after all. We are aligned to a nation, but we are not yet standing on its soil.