From Where I Sit

Have you ever considered how the world looks from your station? And how it is different from a different seat in the house of life? From our view, everything is in a place we recognize, but from that other seat, well, if you were forced into a different spot for just a moment, you would probably see that life looks a lot different from another’s eyes.

Our choice of looking at life not only comes from the seat we’ve ended up with, but it is also shaded by the varied lens that we choose at any given moment. These lenses can shade the object viewed based on our culture, family, region, nationality or a host of other slices that can shade what we see, how we see it, and what we’ll do with our version of the results.

I teach there must be at least 40 sides to any story,
where 40 equals a generational view
and each potential slice of the story
depends on a lot of factors such as are listed above.

Well, and if the truth is known, we often struggle with choosing which lens to view the object of our curiosity. Some view from standard lenses that never change. Others like to shade the view with a bias that defines them based on education, worldliness, culture, ethnicity, religion, or the lack there of. We even allow our nationality lense to consider the view as normal and natural. (This is an almost endless list.)

If you have ever had your eyes checked for vision needs, then you sort of understand this. The doctor twirls the lenses before your eyes, and asks, “One” or “Two” as the options are switched. You choose which one looks better to you. After multiple iterations, a final set of lenses are in place and you should be able to see the object the clearest possible, or you have chosen to ignore what looks right to what matches the lens of your choice!

Here’s a thought: The lens can swirl our view like a kaleidoscope! It depends on what we choose to look through, and if we allow ourselves to work on bringing the object into focus, or we make it as blurry as possible so as to keep from thinking it through to a conclusion we can live with!

Walk into a dark room where you have no clue where anything is located, or what might be contained in the room, what the floor looks like, how low the ceiling might be, or even if there are hazards just waiting for the wrong step. Without knowledge or understanding, you tentatively feel your way through the maze of darkness hoping to find something to shed some light.

I enjoy going into caverns where I’m comforted by organized paths, enough light to see my way, and the feeling that I’m not alone! If you’ve been guided through places like this, inevitably, you know, the guide will turn out all the lights so you get a sense of total darkness and how dependent we are on our creature comforts and needs! Imagine that first explorer suddenly losing their gear! How do you survive?!!?

From your comfortable perch, surrounded by all the opportunities that have allowed you to climb to your post, you view the world with choices you’ve made or situations you find yourself in. How do you rectify all the varied viewpoints?

The who, what, where, when, how and why questions lead us to assume that we are products of our particular location. Change any one of the answers and your view can change rapidly!

Consider the story of old that speaks to six different blind men asked to touch a particular portion of an elephant. They have no clue what an elephant looks like, nor are they allowed to explore entire creature.

“A rope… A snake… A tree… A wall… A fan… A spear…” 
are the replies from each blind person.

Each describes all they can experience by touch from where they are located. If they were relocated then their conclusion may be different. Allow them to feel all the parts, and unless they know what an elephant is by lessons and descriptions from others, then they will be greatly confused as to their conclusion.

This raises so many red flags and creates so many questions for me! With my constantly seeking mind, I immediately create questions and consider the variables – you know, “inquiring minds want to know….” but I still look at it from my personal spot and not yours! Oh for those yesteryears where we knew nothing but our own little corner of the universe! How happy and clueless were we!

Is this is where you are at? You only want to return to that small corner of your previous life and revert back to that “yesteryear” existence. That hinder time could even be as close to you as yesterday!

Life can be seen as this storied elephant. We move from one portion to the other and confusion keeps us guessing at “what’s coming next” or “when will the other shoe drop” or “when will I quit sensing change?”

Solomon has often been called the wisest man in the Bible. He was a searcher of things beyond his frame of life, and to his detriment, he accepted more things that created more confusion. From his “preaching” book, he concluded his instructions with a simple, yet profound, statement.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV

I have yearned to know if this statement was simply made at the ending of his life, and after all of his experiences, this is what he discovered. In reality, it could simply be that all of his teachings were intended to lead to this statement. Go read the entire book, which is a fairly quick read if you do not analyze every verse, and see if he is not showing the path to his conclusion.

Jump to the New Testament and the teachings recorded in Matthew 6, Jesus even concludes with the same concept but from a different angle.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:33-34 NKJV

Take this concept of putting God first in every portion of your life. As you apply it, constantly ensure that God is preeminent in that portion you are dealing with, as well as in every single area… Without God in all portions, you create instability. From finances through relationships, from career to entertainment, from what you ingest and invest with your desire to know… Without God, instability!

Here’s my thought. I cannot help but put everything that happens around me under the umbrella of “God First” and concluding that the end of everything is to have put God first before we entered into the new and unexplained portion of our life. This, to the inquiring mind, gives comfort that I do not have to understand or agree to all the variableness of life. Even in turmoil or uncertainty, “God First” can create a less confusing way to live and provides me with a stable platform that protects me from the rapidly changing world.

It is almost as if the worries of our world are minimized as we allow God to have greater interaction in our personal lives as we release our stress, worries, and uncertainties to Him. Sure, the other shoe will drop – but God will already be there. True, something new is around the corner – but God will already be taking care of our needs before we experience that new twist in life.

The one thing I can say about life “From Where I Sit”, is that change is inevitable. As easily as the optometrist twirls the lens options in front of our eyes, we will see change and it will come fast as a raging bull, or as subtle as that slithering snake.

Even with the assurance that God Never Changes (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17), we can agree with Heraclitus, that Greek Philosopher who preceded Socrates and Plato, who stated: “The only thing constant is change.” From Ephesus, he agonized through the concept of change and how to deal with the constant scenery that was different moment by moment.

Here’s my personal stance. My view of God is simple, and as long as I allow Him to have control in my life then I can accept there are things I will never understand, hence, I am not allowing myself to stress or worry about the things I cannot control. That’s my view from where I sit.