DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE?
"Do not love the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17
The online dictionary defines the word perspective as “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.” All of us have a perspective regarding life and issues. The question is: What determines your perspective?
For the vast majority of people, their perspective is determined by the culture. For them, the only thing true about the concept of absolute truth is that it is absolutely not true. Like beauty, truth is in the eye of the beholder. That is why people talk about my truth, your truth, his truth, and her truth. Culture has said—along with Time Magazine—that absolute truth is dead.
Listen, if you view life through the lens of a morally decaying culture, there is virtually no limit to what you will tacitly approve. Fornication, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, sexual perversion, false religion, witchcraft, rioting, idolatry, transgenderism, and whatever else is contrary to the law and creative order of God are celebrated in today’s world. Since there is no absolute truth, who are we to say any of this is wrong? In Plato’s The Republic, the sailors quit sailing by the stars, and began to sail by the lantern on the bow. How foolish, yet how familiar.
THE RIGHT PERSEPCTIVE
How are we to view life? What is the right perspective? We are to view life through the lens of Scripture, not the lens of culture. Scripture gives us true north. Scripture enables us to see life from God’s perspective. Scripture is like sailing by the fixed and reliable stars, not by the lantern on the bow that is driven and tossed by the wind and waves.
It is tragic to see so many who claim to be Christians embracing the morals of the culture. Make no mistake: the world system discussed in 1 John 2 influences the culture. The world system is anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible, anti-righteousness, and anti-judgment. The world system is totally opposed to the will, word, and ways of God. The world system is run by the devil, and it is on a collision course with destruction. The smoking ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah serve as a strong reminder that God judges sin.
REMEMBER THE BOOK OF JUDGES?
The Book of Judges closes with a very telling verse, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). When a person refuses to do what is right in God’s eyes, he does “what is right in his own eyes.” And “what is right in his own eyes” is almost always wrong.
God is calling us back to His Word. He is calling us to see life from His perspective. As Christians, we are citizens of heaven. We have been saved out of this world and sent back to this world in order to be a witness in this world. If we adopt the perspective of a rotting moral culture, our witness is severely compromised. But, if we do the will of God, we make a difference in the lives of people that lasts forever.
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
P.S. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Direct questions and comments to [email protected].
Dr. Jeff Schreve believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a wonderful plan just for you. From His Heart provides real truth, love and hope on over 700 radio stations each day, in 149 countries each week on TV, and is always available online. Pastor Jeff takes no income from this ministry. All donations go to furthering the broadcast outreach. As a listener/viewer supported ministry, we thank you for joining with us to help speak the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Go to www.fromhisheart.org for more information.
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