Your View Can Make All the Difference

Who doesn’t like a room with a view? When traveling and staying in a hotel, it’s ideal to be assigned a room with a spectacular view of the city you happen to be in. I’ve enjoyed this on a couple of occasions, but most of the time my rooms have had windows that looked out upon boring rooftops, a highway – or even a wall. The best thing to do with views like that is to keep the curtains closed.

In the world of work, one of the indicators of status within a company or firm is having a corner office, one with windows that provide a grand vista to inspire productivity, as well as a brief diversion to reduce the stress of responsibilities and deadlines.

 

Then there are those folks fortunate enough to have hilltop homes that present exciting panoramas of natural beauty, even glorious sunrises or sunsets. Views like those can have a powerful impact on our moods and overall perspectives on life.

 

But we don’t have to travel, earn picturesque work surroundings, or afford picture-perfect homes to possess a very specific view, our own window to the world. Because whether we’re aware of it or not, we all have a worldview that shapes our thinking, attitudes and actions. The difference is that unlike a hotel room, we choose the view; it’s not chosen for us.

 

Worldviews can be shaped by countless factors: family environments, education, vocation, economics, ethnicity, traditions, political leanings, religious and spiritual beliefs – or the lack of them. They can be influenced parents, teachers, professors, people we associate with, books we read, news media and social media. Regardless of how they’re formed, worldviews serve as the lens or filter through which we perceive and understand the world around us.

 

If you’re at the gym, a restaurant, church or even at the mall and hear people engaged in conversation, it’s likely you can soon get a sense of what their worldview is. It’s not a question of whether we have a worldview – it’s a matter of what it is and how it affects how we approach life every day.

 

Sadly, many churches, pastors and even some Christian colleges and universities have allowed social and cultural shifts to impact their beliefs about God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, and how we relate to the world around us. John G. West’s book, Stockholm Syndrome Christianity, offers surprising, even shocking insights about this.

 

So, as followers of Christ, what does this mean for us? There’s a temptation to let what we see in the news, opinions of commentators, posts we read on social media, and the perspectives of folks we spend time with to become our worldview-shapers. But I’m convinced the Bible – as the Lord guides us to understand it through the Holy Spirit – should be the primary factor for developing and maintaining a worldview through which we can honor and serve Him.

 

To prepare Joshua to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land, God gave him these instructions: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8). 

 

Granted, at the time Joshua did not have the Bible as we have it today – 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. All he had were the writings of Moses, now referred to by theologians as the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Even in those holy writings, however, Joshua had a clear understanding of God’s purpose and plans, His character, and His expectations for the people who were made “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). The Lord had provided everything Joshua needed to serve as the new leader of the headstrong, often rebellious Israelites.

 

Exhorting his young protégé, Timothy, the apostle Paul also emphasized the importance and centrality of the Scriptures both for everyday life and for the life to come. He stated, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

 

Timothy also didn’t have the entire Bible as we have it today, but he had the Old Testament, what Jews call the Torah, along with Paul’s God-inspired correspondence.

 

If the Scriptures were so valuable to Christ followers centuries ago, and God’s people thousands of years ago, shouldn’t they be equally prized by us today? I’m reminded of the famous quote by C.S. Lewis, a one-time atheist who eventually found faith in God irresistible and indispensable. He said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

 

In essence Lewis was saying that his “worldview” was founded upon Christianity as revealed in the Scriptures, helping him to interpret practical aspects of life as well as spiritual realities, being able to see God and His hand in everything he encountered.

 

We have an important question to ask ourselves: What has defined – and continues to define – our worldview? Do God and His Word have any role in that? Do we make it a practice to read, study, meditate on and memorize the Scriptures, or do we possess what one contemporary Christian song calls “a dusty Bible,” neglected and even forgotten on a shelf somewhere?

 

If our worldview is shaped by what we see on the evening news, what some agnostic professor taught us years ago, the latest bestseller, or “The View,” maybe it’s time to reassess what we truly believe and why we believe it. Our only certain source for seeing the world as God sees it is the Bible. As King David observed, drawing from a storehouse of experience, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

Escaping the Confines of One’s Comfort Zone

“He’s (or she’s) in the zone.” Have you heard that before? Maybe you’ve even said it about yourself, that you’re totally focused on a particular project or task. “In the zone,” I’ve found, often is a good place to be. But there are many other kinds of zones – time zones, residential and commercial zones, no-fly zones, relationship zones. Even something we call “comfort zones.”

 

Most of us like our comfort zones. They’re familiar, predictable, safe. We can establish secure, clearly defined boundaries, manage expectations, and generally reap expected results. The risks of failure and disappointments can be kept at a minimum. So, what’s not to like about comfort zones?

 

For one thing, they can become tedious, even boring. They might cause us to settle for things easily within our reach. The routine of making the same widgets day after day might seem risk-free, but life and work should amount to more than making widgets. 

 

Another drawback of comfort zones is they might prevent us from experiencing – and enjoying – the unknown and untried. We might have no idea what we’re missing unless we attempt to discover what it could be. You can’t learn to swim unless you’re willing to jump into the pool.

 

But perhaps the greatest criticism of a life confined to a comfort zone is succinctly expressed by speaker, author and leadership coach, Tim Kight: “Nothing great ever happened in the comfort zone.” 

 

What if people like Thomas Edison and others had remained comfortable with gas lights, or even torches? Those provided illumination, but not the convenience, efficiency or safety of incandescent lights and lighting innovations that have followed. Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright refused to be discouraged by naysayers who insisted, “Man will never fly”? If not for them, we might still be trying to cross country in trains – or even wagon trains.

 

We commonly think of peanuts as snacks removed from a shell, can or jar, or peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, your choice). But in the early 1900s, George Washington Carver, born into slavery, wanted nothing to do with any kind of comfort zone. Instead, he applied his genius to developing hundreds of products using peanuts, as well as sweet potatoes and soybeans. He also was a stalwart advocate of crop rotation and agricultural education. 

 

Being averse to comfort zones isn’t limited to those who answered the adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Explorer Christopher Columbus gave vivid picture of the pitfalls that can result from remaining nestled in one’s comfort zone. He famously said, “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

 

Long before that, however, people were learning the pros and cons of comfort-zone life. The Bible gives dozens of examples. There was Abram (later called Abraham), called by God to leave the friendly confines of Haran. The Lord instructed him, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing…all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1-2).

 

That must have sounded like a wonderful promise, but God hadn’t told Abram where He was sending him, how long it would take to get there, or how this “great nation” would come about. Abram trusted the Lord, left the Haran comfort zone, and hit the road with his wife, Sarai, nephew Lot, their servants and possessions. Joseph, Daniel, Jesus’ disciples, even the apostle Paul responded in similar ways.

 

Among the strangest examples were the Israelites, freed after four centuries of bondage in Egypt. We might think people escaping inconceivably oppressive slavery would never look back, for even a second, but for them that wasn’t the case.

 

Wandering around the desert weeks after waving good-bye to captivity, the Israelites began to grumble to their leader, Moses: “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (Exodus 16:3). Even after God miraculously provided them with manna, quail, and water from a rock, they continued to favor hindsight over foresight, becoming shortsighted.

 

What does it take to step boldly out of one’s comfort zone to face the challenges of an uncertain but promising future? In a word, courage. 

Following the death of Moses, God selected Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Recognizing the daunting task of guiding a rebellious people, the Lord gave Joshua these instructions:

”Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go…. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6-9).

What great things might God have in store for you, if only you’re willing to step outside your own comfort zone? Like Joshua, be strong and courageous! 

It’s Time for Being Strong and Courageous

Over my years of reading the Bible I have learned a lot of things, but one of the most important is this: When God repeats something several times, pay attention. He wants to make a point, and doesn’t want us to miss it. For example: 

In giving the Ten Commandments, the Lord starts eight of them with “You shall not….” (Or, if you prefer KJV phraseology, “Thou shalt not….") It’s evident these are things He doesn’t want us to do. Also, reading the classic passage that conveys how God intended for us to relate to one another, we’re told repeatedly what love is – or at least what it’s supposed to be. “Love it patient, love is kind…always protects, always trusts always hopes, always perseveres…” (1 Corinthians 13:4-13). This repetition isn’t just for clever literary effect.

So recently as I read the conclusion of the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy and the start of the next one, Joshua, I took note when I saw one particular admonition being repeated: “Be strong and courageous.” 

As Moses was preparing to pass the leadership to Joshua, he knew the current residents of the Promised Land – Canaan – didn’t figure to be sending out welcoming committees. No one was displaying “Can’t we all just get along” bumper stickers on their chariots. So Moses told his people, “The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you and you will take possession of their land” (Deuteronomy 31:3). 

This ragtag horde of Israelites had gone through a lot, and God had come through for them in every crisis. But time and again they had proved themselves short on faith and long on disobedience. So crossing the Jordan River didn’t mean they’d be home free. What Moses did next was instructive, not only for the people of Israel but also for those who seek to follow the Lord today.

He exhorted them, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Moses hardly took a breath before repeating it to the man God had chosen as his successor: “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them…. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged’” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8).

So what does this have to do with us? The ancient Israelites lived in a very different time, of course, but their circumstances were perilous and tumultuous, not unlike what we’re facing today. Joseph had the Egyptians to deal with, David had Goliath, and Daniel had the Babylonians. In the 21^stcentury, we have our own “Egyptians,” Goliaths and “Babylonians.”

Violence seems to dominate the newscasts just about every night. The other night, I counted four rapid-fire news stories about local tragedies before the news anchors let the meteorologist give a brief weather report. Wars big and small rage around the globe. Protests and unrest are exploding on every continent. The foundations of our nation seem under siege. Beliefs and principles many of us hold dear are being assailed. These days it seems up has become down; down is up.

How should we react? We could take lessons from nature and, like an ostrich, stick our heads into the sand. Or retreat into our shells like a turtle and hope all the bad stuff goes away. 

A better option would be to take our cues from the Scriptures, muster up our courage and face the hostile world around us in ways Jesus would. With love and compassion, but also with unwavering courage. 

Long before He took on human form in the tiny town of Bethlehem, Jesus received this prophetic description: "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:3). Talk about not receiving a friendly welcome!

Then in Hebrews 4:15 we read, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin." Any time we want to complain, “But Lord, You just don’t understand,” He can reply, “Oh, yes, I definitely do.”

When terrifying circumstances of life press in on us, or we find ourselves perplexed by the chaos that threatens to overwhelm our society, we can do as Moses instructed his fellow Israelites, “be strong and courageous.” Because that’s exactly what Jesus did, and He promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).