A Different Perspective

What would you think if I said that 1 + 1 = 10? The vast majority would stare in disbelief and wonder how I managed to get through high school thinking like that, let alone college. However, depending upon the audience, I guarantee that some would agree wholeheartedly with that statement. How can this be? 1 + 1 = 10 doesn't make any sense! Do not all rational people over the age of 4 know that 1 + 1 = 2?

Yes, all rational people over the age of 4 (should) know that 1 + 1 = 2, however, all rational people who have a degree in computer or electrical engineering would also concur that 1 + 1 = 10, because 10 is how a computer represents 2! It's amazing how easily the confusion can be cleared if one can simply understand the perspective from which another is coming.

It is sometimes difficult for Christians to comprehend how so many people just don't grasp the spiritual truths in life. If we can understand the other perspective, it will prove extremely valuable in helping us know whether or not our teaching has any effect on a person, and how we might be able to get them to change the way they look at life.

The Spiritual Mind

Consider Matthew 13:11-13: And He answered and said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. "For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. "Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Jesus was trying to explain to His disciples that not everyone who came to hear Him did so out of a spiritual mindset. Speaking in parables ensured that those who wanted to understand the Lord's teachings could do so, while the others could remain in the dark if they so chose. It is in this passage that Jesus explains that one's world-view is all a matter of perspective.

Some of the things I often ponder daily are the reasons why some people don't believe in God, why many don't believe the Bible is His Word, and why many more are not even Christians. It doesn't make any sense to me, it defies logic. Can't they see the obvious evidences for a Creator, the indistinguishable marks of inspiration all over the Bible, and the infallible proofs of the Son of God? Why can't they see? Why don't they understand?

Because not everyone knows binary

Not everyone has made up their mind to go to college and study computer engineering, and consequently not everyone looks at arithmetic from that perspective. Similarly, not everyone has made up their mind to seek the Lord and obey His will, and so not everyone looks at life from that perspective. They don't see God because they're not looking. They haven't found Him because they haven't tried. Those who have looked are being told to look away. Those who have tried to find Him are told that He can't be found. That's the perspective of the world, and those are the barriers we have to break down.

As Christians, we have to understand that most people don't view this world and this life the same way we do, and it's our job to encourage them to try, to help them find (Isa. 55:6; Acts 17:26,27), and to explain to them the mystery of the kingdom of God (cf. Mk. 4:11; Matt. 13:10-17; Rom. 16:25,26; Eph. 3:3-6).