CAPA Corner: Perspective

    Ever see any of those drawing that you look at and they look one way for a moment and then look another way a few seconds later?  So, is the drawing on the left a vase in the center or two faces, one left and the other right, looking at each other?

    “Is the glass half full or half empty?”  You have probably used this phrase at various times in your life.  This phrase and the drawing of the vase, I mean two faces, have to do with our perspective. Perspective, for the point of this article, won’t deal with visual but a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something.

    Proverbs 23:7 reads, “For as he (a person) thinks in his heart so is he.”  Jesus in Luke 6:45 says, “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”   Each and every day we have the opportunity to shape how we view our circumstances and our world.  Are you a “glass half full” or a “glass half empty” type of person?  It is always easier, with very little effort, to see what is wrong with a situation or criticize a decision and basically always find the negative!   
    In Luke 7:36-50, we find a prime example of the value of perspective.  Jesus is invited to a house for dinner.  While the group is having dinner a woman, known in the city as a “sinful” woman, comes into the house.  This woman goes over to Jesus, begins to weep, washes his feet with her tears, wipes his feet with her hair and then anoints his feet with fragrant oil.  Rather than being amazed and marveling at what just happened, the host says to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”  This host was definitely a “glass half empty” type of individual.  Jesus confronts the attitude of the host and turns to deal with the woman.  Looking past “what manner of woman” she is, Jesus, from a “glass half full” perspective, sees the need and says to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.  Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”  If Jesus had strictly focused on the negative lifestyle of this woman rather than sensing the cry of her heart, the end of the story would have been vastly different!
    I wonder how many times we miss out on opportunities of various types because of our perspective.  It takes effort to view people, life’s circumstances, and various situations from a “glass half full” perspective and at times may even seem a little risky.  Make a decision to begin to be a “glass half full” type of individual or better yet a “that glass is about to run over” person!  The decision to do so will begin to alter your view on life, make you more pleasant to be around, and present you with opportunities that you otherwise might miss.  Fill up that glass! Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart does good like a medicine.”  
Ron Erickson
Future Hope Ministries