According to Merriam-Webster.com, perspective can include both your mental point of view as well as a physical visible scene. While I’m not a psychologist (I only took one class and that was enough for me), I feel safe to say that everything we think or feel is based ultimately on our perspective. The old idiom about how you can’t really understand what someone is going through until you walk a mile in their shoes, really points to how much we assume about someone or something without fully understanding their perspective. Only God allows things to happen in our lives to grow our understanding and help us learn to support one another. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). In context, the apostle Paul is speaking about suffering for the sake of Christ. I would like to extend this lesson to also include the suffering we experience simply from living in a sinful world even if those situations are not directly related to religious persecution.
The pain my mother went through before and after her foot surgery wasn’t something I could empathize with. I had sympathy for her in that I felt bad that she was suffering and was sorry I couldn’t do anything to alleviate her pain. But until I went through the same thing, I couldn’t truly understand her pain as I hadn’t experienced it yet. We are best able to comfort those who are going through or have gone through similar situations as ourselves. And as the apostle Paul says, God “comforts us in all our tribulation.” Because of sin, this world is full of hardships and the Great Comforter wants to make sure that we have the right tools to navigate successfully through those times as well as encourage others along the way. So we learn to practice “…love[ing] thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39).
I have had people apologize to me before for the way they treated me during certain times of my life. Years later, when the same thing happened to them, they realized why I had acted the way I did because they were behaving the same way in the same situation. Regardless of how others treat you, we are not to return the rough treatment. “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). This is only possible through a heavenly connection. Our humanity wants to parade in front of people how much they hurt us instead of forgiving them. God has a higher calling for His followers. Through Christ, we mold our perspective to match that of our heavenly Father. To see people as He sees them. To look beyond our current predicament and realize that Jesus desires all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).
It is easy to discuss what we should do. It is another thing entirely to put that into practice. God will not force us to change; we must ask Him for guidance and then believe He has given us the ability to move forward and make changes to our perspective. On the way home after church, I noticed how beautiful it was outside with all the green plants. I wanted to go outside, but my foot is still healing so going for a walk was out of the question. I’ve been sitting in a recliner to keep my foot propped up. I decided to turn my recliner to face the window. Being able to see the trees outside swaying in the breeze and the birds fliting about in the sunshine brought me much joy. That simple change in perspective made all the difference and it was something I had to do myself. Similarly, God will help us change our mental perspectives if we ask Him with sincerity, and He does that through giving us opportunities to make choices. Changing your perspective is a work of a life time. “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
Challenge yourself this week to take a step back from various situations and ask if you really understand the perspective of the other person. Perhaps you could think of some clarifying questions to ask instead of assuming their answers or thinking they are wrong for feeling certain ways. Let us support and love one another in a way that will show not only our love but God’s love.