Perspective - What color are your glasses?

It’s a common cliché to say that someone views something through “rose colored glasses” which means they think it is more pleasant than it really is. Obviously we don’t all see things better than they are. Most of us probably see things worse than they are.

I think it’s kinda like this – We all wear “glasses” through which we see life. When we are born they are clear, perfect “prescription” for our lives, but as we grow and experience life they get mucked up. They get spattered with “goo” from “explosions” of good and bad experiences. Some of us wise up early on in life that you have to take off your life glasses and clean them periodically. Others learn that lesson later, or haven’t learned it yet at all. So we wonder through life with obscured, distorted vision adding to the splattering.

If we’re wise enough to realize our vision has been compromised, and remove our glasses, giving them a good cleaning, then we can reset our perspective and start fresh. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Some of the “splatters” may have been of such a toxic nature that they have left cracks and crevasses in our glasses. We either continue to try and function, having at least a portion of our vision distorted by these flaws in our glasses or we trade them in for a new pair.

We’re getting ready to start a series at church about world-view. Last night we talked for a bit about what effects a person’s world-view. We also talked about what things our world-view effects. This morning as I walked and used the stillness of the morning to reflect, I thought about this again. I was also taken back to recent events in my life and my response to them. I wondered what color glasses I am wearing? What is skewing my view of people, places and situations? My world-view, macro picture aside – What is my “life-view?” What has shaped, blurred, scarred and diluted my vision of the life I live every day?

Several weeks ago this thought first popped in to my mind as my perception of a certain individual had changed somewhat dramatically. Unfortunately in this situation it was not for the good and not at all any fault of that individual… at least not that they would have ever known to prevent. The strange thing was, when out of sight they were not out of mind, and at those moments the perception of them in my mind was quite different, and rather good. However, as soon as I had interaction with this person… perception change. It was odd, okay, it’s still odd, but it made me think.

Why these two perceptions? What was (is) reality? And even more importantly what was God’s view? Yeah, I decided it would be important to include Him in this little journey of discovery. Interestingly enough my in-person perception of this person seems to be shifting yet again.

The question is what have the experiences of my life splattered on my “life glasses” causing this skew in perception? Is it my own fears and issues? Is there a trigger that is flipped reminding me of a situation from my past? These are all things I’m searching out.

Then I wondered if my out of sight perception was not actually “my” perception, but potential that I “saw.” AKA – God’s perception. Interesting thought, right? Maybe God was trying to show me that I needed to look beyond what I could see to what could be- to what He sees – to life with clean glasses. Hmmm…

So, I’m taking off my life glasses, giving them a good cleaning, hoping I won’t find any chunks or gashes. Then I hope to have a whole new outlook on the people around me and the situations I face. I’m even hoping that I’ll be able to see/understand the glasses that others are wearing and maybe help them get theirs cleaned up as well.

What color are your glasses? Are they red, green, purple, brown, black? Do they need a good cleaning? Are you ready to see reality instead of the skewed vision behind your spattered glasses?

I want to hear from you! Give me some insight from another perspective!