A Safe Place?

We believe we live in a world where we can experience our points of view from a safe place. We have become accustomed to scrolling on our devices, taking in information and processing it, and then influencing others with our view. Our POV. In expressing our “Point of View”…this knowledge becomes the “world according to (fill in your name).” We spend so much time processing what we take in and judging it and speaking about it and defending it…that we often do not stop to consider if we are being a positive or a negative force on those we impose our points of view on.

What about Point of View?

How often do we think about our personal impact on those we know and influence? And if we do think about it, is it the impact we truly want to make?

Life is busy and often hard and thinking about others can be a very secondary consideration…or even a third. The real is that we do influence our people circles. We feed them, feed from them and take our cues from those perspectives. So, what is your input like? Are you quick to judge, critic, analyze, or condemn? Do you weight options and ponder ideas and then decide what mindset to rest on, or do you go along with the majority rule?

I bring these questions up because I am convinced that we are not the free-thinkers we may believe we are. We are inundated with information, both real and imagined with the voraciousness of speed, guided by technology to our perceived determined mindsets. I have become a little cynical when I think of us truly having control over the way we choose our perspectives. If you hear a tale enough times, you may concede that it is the truth. But what is truth? If you agree with much of Internet culture, then truth is individual and what you want it to be. But is that true?

So much of what we take in and consider are from sources that don’t include a biblical perspective. We are more and more left to choose between worldly concepts and ideas without much consideration for what God has to say about these issues. As Christians, we need to use more discretionary means to understanding what we should and should not align ourselves with.

We Can Be Our True Selves within the Scope of Our POV (Point of View)

Let me get right to the point (no pun intended). In order to truly develop a sense of perspective and mindset, we must learn to quiet ourselves and listen to the sound of our own heart’s desire. This is the place where God can capture our attention and speak to our personal, inward thoughts.

Our Point of View, at least as Christians, should not be formed by the world’s standard of truth, but rather be transformed by the Word of God. Let that sink in for a moment.

We are not called to form our opinions and mindsets from the doctrines, cultural norms and standards of the systems of the world. We have to operate within them…because we live here, but we are required to think from the point of view of where we are citizens of: the Kingdom of God. If you are a born-again, Holy Spirit filled follower of Christ (Yeshua Hamashiach), you should be taking your cues about POV from the Bible, the unadulterated Word of God. It is the source of truth.

Romans 12:2 instructs us not to be conformed by the thinking of the world but be “transformed” from it by studying, meditating and praying on the Word of God. By doing this we will understand and know what the Will of God is for our lives. We will begin to discern what is actually true and worthy of our attention and use this biblical knowledge and revelation to shape our view of our individual lives and the things of the world.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” Romans 12:2 (Amplified Version)

Let Your POV Build Those Around You

Although we are constantly subjected to “talking heads”, “political pundits,” and sometimes just noisy voices, either online or in real life…we don’t need to conform to standards that pull us away from the teaching and revelation of Our Heavenly Father. As the “lights in the world” the Bible refers to us as in Matthew 5: 14, we are assigned the task of weeding through the chaos and deceptions using the scriptures and our prayer life to determine what is good, righteous and true. As we meditate on these holy principles we make them our own standards to live by…influencing those we impact every day.

It takes courage to walk this way. It is not an easy path. But if you’ve been a Christian for over 10 minutes, you already know that we aspire to a higher calling…a “more excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31). Through this way, POV is achieved through seeing the love of Jesus as the foundation of our perception and the backbone of our standards. And this is the POV that should direct and guide our lives and influence others.

Until next time…blessings.

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