Perception

Oh here it is, right under my nose.

Odds are you have said this. Perhaps many times. Maybe even daily.

We’re all guilty of being blind on occasion. Just human nature, but how often are we too wrapped up in ourselves, busyness, stupid distractions, or worrying to stop and breathe and observe the world around us?

Hmmmm?

Case in point – a few weeks ago, the stage setup had been changed for a new sermon series at church. These lovely, bright, and quite large alphabet blocks had appeared:

No lie. I walked in for soundcheck, completed soundcheck, and walked backstage without noticing a thing. I caught a glimpse of the lovely new display on the monitor in the green room. “Wow, I need some more caffeine or something,” I thought.

In my defense, here is my view:

So perspective depends on our location, both physical and mental I suppose.

When not having an off day, I tend to notice a lot of things. I’m always observing, analyzing, learning, taking a moment to contemplate God’s creation, or seeing things from an artistic viewpoint and appreciating their beauty and form. Many people see me as a supernerd, and I own that title, but I was always a creative type first. I would say “artist”, but then someone will want to know where my paintings are. Words and music are my usual mediums, but I dabble in a lot of areas.

Besides just the visual, I’m always noticing patterns, trends and such … and I usually have an opinion about them. I don’t always express that opinion. It’s not always constructive. And in the current environment, I’m likely to be judged as judgmental. Y’all have noticed this, right??? I mean, it’s bad lately. Bad. I risk being called a hater or a bigot for calling anything wrong that has been generally considered wrong since the dawn of time. Or even for offering an alternate viewpoint or dissenting opinion on something that is a matter of opinion.

Oy vey. Jesus come back now. Logic has ceased to exist.

Supernerd aside moment: I once developed a training class for process engineers (i.e. chemical engineers) on how to draw logic diagrams. We used them to help program the computers that keep chemical manufacturing plants from blowing up, but logic is logic. I know of whence I speak. J

I don’t even have any specific “you are wrong and you’re a hater” issue in mind as I write this. The phenomenon has become so pervasive that I really just want to go bury my head in the sand. Now if that’s sand on a beach in the Caribbean, we may be talking …

I stand for traditional Christian values. I try not to be too legalistic or self-righteous, and I try not to take myself too seriously. To each his own. I’ve been challenged from time to time, and I welcome that. I love hearing from friends of another faith (or even friends from a different branch of Christianity) about their views on the world. I always learn something from those discussions. You know, respectful, calm discussions involving listening and asking real (not loaded) questions.

And definitely not labeling me a hater. God loves everyone right where they are. The least I can do is attempt the same.

In the end it really doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what God thinks.

He gave us a book to help with that.

#sorrynotsorry