Perspective
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Phillipians 4:11-13
In my ‘neck of the woods’ this has been a crazy week. West Tennessee is usually fortunate if we get a couple of inches of snow a year. We’re currently on day 6 of Snowpacolypse ‘21. Monday morning we awoke to around 4 inches of sleet and extremely low temperatures. My immediate area didn’t get any snow, just sleet, and it pretty much brought the world to a halt. Sleet is so much harder to drive or work in. Wednesday night saw an additional 4-6 inches of snow. The temperatures have been extremely low for our area. Single digit temperatures don’t happen very much here, and we aren’t equipped to deal with it. As someone who works in a small business it’s been a busy and extra stressful week as we worked to meet our commitments with unexpected challenges. Everything was harder, the raw material was all frozen together, the forklifts couldn’t move, even on flat ground, some of the pallets were actually frozen to the ground, so in addition to not delivering much product due to road conditions, we struggled to make new product to continue to meet our customers’ needs once the roads cleared. In short, it’s been a COLD and miserable week.
My friends, however, have spent the week posting fun outdoor videos of themselves playing in the snow, or images of their snow clothes drying while they sip on hot cocoa and play board games. They are loudly proclaiming their love of all things snow. The same snow that wreaked havoc on my world, created an opportunity to play and have fun for them. Many of the business people I am in contact with on a daily basis are working from home, and spending afternoons playing with children or grandchildren in the snow. The factories they work for, however, are still hard at work and need the product my family’s company provides, and they’re calling to find out when we’ll be able to deliver.
The same scene, seen from two different perspectives results in vastly different emotions. For me, it was a hard week to keep a good attitude. For others, it was a week to relish in. It probably didn’t help my attitude that the last big snow we had was way back when both of my boys were at home. This event also magnified the emptiness of my nest. As I struggled to not allow the frustration of the week to color my behavior, especially as I dealt with employees who had made the extra effort to come into work when some had not, I remembered a recent sermon about Paul and his trials.
Paul went through an immense amount of struggles. I’m always amazed when I read his summary in 2nd Corinthians:
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches 2 Corinthians 11: 24-28.
Through it all Paul remained steadfast. He focused on the important things. He kept his sight focused on Christ. None of us are promised a perfect life. In fact, we are assured that we will have trials. Having a relationship with Jesus doesn’t make life easier for Christians, but it does make life easier to bear. Regardless of how things are going for us, we are to remember that we are blessed, chosen, forgiven, redeemed children of the one true God. This week, I spent my early mornings driving around picking up employees who live on backroads. I’ve been blessed with a 4 wheel drive vehicle that is capable of making the trek. I knew that my attitude during these drives was important. My employees know I am a person of faith because it colors my conversation. I don’t go out there to evangelize them, but in my comments, it’s obvious. Sometimes they ask questions, sometimes they tell me about a church they went to when they were young. One thing I know is: they’re watching me. They pay attention to my attitude when times get hard far more than when everything is going well. If I allow the world to push me off track, everything I’ve said in the past will lose its power.
According to Merriam-Webster, one of the definitions of perspective is: the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance. How does your relationship with Christ color your perspective of this world we’re living in? Do you allow His love and grace through in your everyday reactions to life, or do you allow trials and sufferings to push Him out of view? Think about it, pray about it. He wants to be there to help in troubled times, if we will just let Him.
