Perspective

My husband and I were watching a documentary — I forget what it was about — but one of the commentators said something that struck me. They were talking about some sort of conspiracy and she said, “You get too deep into something and you lose all perspective.” It made me think about a time not too long ago during the election and the inauguration. Some people were saying different things were going to happen and they were all wrapped up in this way of thinking. People I knew had gotten too deep into what youtubers were saying. They were listening so much to these folks on YouTube that they lost all sense of reality. They lost their perspective because of who they were dialed into and who they were listening to the most. Now I’m not going to get into politics or anything but this is a current example.

Who are you listening to? What is your perspective? Are you lost in a rabbit hole?

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:3, For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

That’s a tough nugget to swallow. Because as much as we think we are listening to solid teaching, it’s our job to verify that! How do we know if we’re listening to sound teaching? We have to fact check it ourselves. Open the Bible, read it for yourself and make sure it’s really saying that and not saying something out of context. God’s Spirit will never contradict His Word in the Bible. So if you hear a teaching, you’ll know it’s true if it bears witness with the Spirit and it lines up with what His Word says. God will never contradict Himself. The Bible also says a house divided will not stand. And before I take this out of context, this was when Jesus was being accused of working miracles through the power of the devil. And He replied that a house divided against itself cannot stand. He meant that if he was using the power of the devil to cast out demons, that would be a house divided. But we can also apply this same meaning to that of God — God would undermine His own authority if He told us His word is truth and then turns around and contradicts it. How could we trust Him? How could we say He is faithful? We know God is faithful because His word says so, and then also HE DOES THE THING HE SAYS!

Numbers 23:19, God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

1 Thess 5:4 says that God will make it happen (or God will do it) because He who calls you is faithful.

Let me tell you about the time we are living in. Matthew 24 talks about how things will go down when the end has come. It’s the darkest hour just before the dawn of the return of Jesus. Let’s read Matthew 24 starting in v. 4. Come back when you’re done reading Matthew 24.

So that’s not a pleasant picture is it? But that’s where we are heading! The world is not getting better. You can see it on the news! Flip on any TV at any time and you will see it. Things are progressing toward this end Jesus spoke about. So it’s even more important than ever that we have the right perspective. That we guard who’s voice we are letting in. Be intentional about who we are listening to so that we don’t get sucked down the wrong path and lose sight of the goal. Our goal is to advance the Kingdom of God and we don’t have the luxury of time on our side. We can’t be messing around anymore. We are not children anymore. We need to get the right perspective that the Lord is coming soon and it’s time to start acting like it. No one else can be saved for you. No one else is going to work out your salvation except for you. No one else is going to live your life, so why should we rely on someone else to have that relationship with God for us — Your relationship with God is up to you. You can be as close to God as you want, and you can always go closer than you are. You’re the only one holding yourself back from being closer to God. We tend to get comfortable with the way things are and it will sometimes take some discomfort to go deeper in God. That’s the opposite of where we started, right? When you get too deep into some other voice of the world, you lose perspective. But the deeper you go in God, the more clearly you see.

Read 1 Thess 5 and see how it correlates to Matthew 24.

The time is upon us and we can’t wait any longer to get things right. Now is the time. You are the one who can make the change you need. Stop waiting. No one else is going to do it for you. It’s time to take action.

When you get too deep into some other voice of the world, you lose perspective. But the deeper you go in God, the more clearly you see.

Kris Watterson