Perspective

Perspective has multiple meanings.

1. the art of drawing solid objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other when viewed from a particular point.

2. a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

The first gives you a view of something real. The second is something you believe, whether it’s real or not.

When it comes to perspective, it is more important to receive information than to give it. So much of the internet is filled with people giving a perspective on topics ranging from recipes to politics. Many have no knowledge upon which to base their comments. Very little effort is taken by the readers to determine if the perspective given is based on anything valid. Many are simply opinions developed by imagination or information obtained from someone else.

The problem with all of this is you can also find it among Christians. Paul exhorted the Berean Church, declaring, “These were more noble … they searched the scriptures to see if these things were true.” Jesus declared, “You will know the truth, and knowing the truth will set you free.”

I enjoy reading books by people who are smarter than me. I love to learn. I love to explore new ways of looking at the same thing. As long as you maintain a perspective where God is the point of reference, you will find yourself seeing things from a good perspective, one based on truth.

I heard a story years ago about an incident with an interstate bridge on the East coast. It was a very busy commuter route, with thousands of cars traveling over it every day. The state highway department had responsibility for performing routine inspections and maintenance to keep the interstate safe.

One day, as an auto body repairman was driving over the bridge, he noticed something that just didn’t seem right. It concerned him so much that he reached out to the state DOT. They sent divers to the bridge site to inspect the foundations which were under water in the river which flowed beneath the bridge. When the divers emerged, they were shaking their heads in disbelief at what they found. The bridge was immediately closed, and repairs were ordered.

The foundations of the bridge supports were deteriorating. The bridge, even though it was still stable enough to bear the weight of the traffic going across it, was headed for catastrophic failure if nothing had been done.

Here’s point of all of this, and the topic at hand. The auto body repair man had such a keen perspective of curves and lines from his experience repairing dented car parts that he noticed the curvature of the bridge was not right. He spotted what the inspectors had failed to see. Fortunately, the engineers took the man’s concern to heart and did their due diligence to correct the issue before anyone was injured or killed.

This should be the same way you and I conduct our life. Have in place some regular “maintenance” inspections. Take proactive steps to ensure that your life remains in line and operating on the correct curvature of your trajectory though living. But keep an open mind to additional information from others who may have a different perspective than you. They may see something that is not visible from your vantage point. It could be life saving.

We all need voices into our life. We need friends who will not only encourage us and celebrate the victories with us, but also have the liberty to voice concerns which they may see in us; areas in which we may have grown complacent or have missed something on the horizon. This type of friend is rare … which makes them extremely valuable. If you ever find one, never let them go.