Is perspective important? When photographers take pictures, one the main things they consider is the perspective. What angle a picture is taken at has an enormous impact on the photo and how it speaks to others. It can also be the difference between a masterpiece and someone just fooling around. Likewise, our perspective of ourselves can impact the beauty and value we see there. This view can end up being very different from how God and others see us.
When we look at ourselves, we tend to see all the qualities that we dislike. We point out that we eat too much, laugh too loud, and heaven forbid that we snore. We see that we are pushy and do what is best for us instead of helping someone else out. Or find ourselves silently judging our friends when we want to just be happy to have them. We are trapped in our set of standards that is based on a comparison of ourselves to others. We should be better. After all, Susie got an A on her homework this week and Bobby serves at the soup kitchen every day of the week. If only we would work harder and be more motivated. We look in our mirrors and see all the ways we don’t measure up. We tell ourselves lies and say that since we don’t think we are as pretty as Megan, we are ugly. We aren’t as strong as Zach, so we are pathetic. We aren’t as smart as Brooke, Tom, and Mark, so we must be dumb.
These are all lies that we believe. Satan attack us in this way to discourage us and we fall for his bait so easily even though we are warned that “[h]e prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour,” (1 Peter 5:8, NLT). Earlier in this verse, Satan is called our “great enemy.” He is actively looking for ways to take us out of the game and one of the ways he does this is by convincing us that we are worthless, whether because of our looks or actions. He pulls our eyes from Jesus and focuses them on ourselves. I’m not saying that we are never responsible for how we see ourselves, but we also need to realize that this is one of the devil’s best ways of attacking us.
The best way of combating this type of depression, I have found, is to get a new perspective. There are actually two perspective changes that need to be made here. First, we need to shift our focus from ourselves to God. Even when we are not in the mood to sing songs or pray prayers praise, we need to. We can still bring our concerns and trials to God, but we need to remember that he is in control. Praise reminds of that. This is a well-documented way of treating depression. All you have to do is flip through the Psalms and you will find that this is how David coped with depression and other trials in his life. Fixing our eyes on Jesus enables us to run the race of life that he has created for us.
The second perspective we need to change is how we view ourselves. This might sound contradictory because I just said that we need to take our focus off ourselves and focus on God instead. In that sense I mean we need to change what we are living for and who we are trying to please. Whereas changing our perspectives of ourselves is when we change how we are judging ourselves as we try to please God. If we judge ourselves saying that we are worthless, then we are calling God a liar because he said that we are “beautifully and wonderfully made.”
When we say that no one loves us, we lie because God tells us that he loves us so much that “[h]e gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him,” (John 3:16-17, NLT). If we have faith in Jesus, then God does not judge us and if the one person who has the right to judge us does not, then we should not judge ourselves either. We need to realize that we do not have to be perfect because we have been shown grace. This perspective of ourselves will allow us to forgive ourselves when we mess up and encourage us to work towards bettering ourselves without feeling like we are less than God made us to be.
Like photographers we need to adjust our perspective and make sure we are using the lens of Christ. Then we will be able to see the big picture, focusing on God, and we will be able to see our true form. God created us and he does not make mistakes. We just aren’t looking at his work through his lens, the correct lens, of perspective.
Learn more about a college education with a Christian perspective conducted under the authority of the Holy Bible at Geneva College – Admissions: admissions@geneva.edu | 800-847-8255.
-Kelsey Gerhard ‘23
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Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash
Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.
Jun 9, 2021
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