Perspective is Important.
March 22, 2023
I tried taking several photographs but couldn’t seem to portray just how expansive the embankment was or how much rock had gone into making sure the hillside didn’t wash away. I mean, you could tell there was a lot of rock, but the vegetation and no comparative subjects made the scene bland.
That is, until my wife agreed to take a photo of me standing at the end of the pipe.
Once I was in the picture and you could see me against the end of the pipe it was much easier to appreciate that the pipe was not a small pipe, and the embankment was huge. You now had a feel for the distance from the top of the slope to the bottom. You had a better sense of how much water might be coming out of that pipe if it were flowing full.
When I look back on the photograph, I’m reminded that perspective is important.
Perspective is Important. #hope #joy #writingcommunity Click To TweetOne definition of perspective is “the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance.”[1]
You and I have the capacity to view things in their true relations. God gave us the ability to see something next to another and determine which is larger and which is smaller. We can also experience life in such a way that we view something’s relative importance. For instance, we know that paying the electric bill is more important than going to a movie. If we want to be productive during the day, we know getting a good night’s sleep is more important than watching a late movie.
The concept of viewing things in their true relations or relative importance is not a complicated concept.
Then why do we often lose our proper perspective on things?
Probably because we are human beings. We live in a fallen world where we often seek things that make us feel good rather than things that are good for us. We believe we can handle things on our own. I mean, for the most part, my readers are adults. Adults can make their own decisions—right?
To a point, I suppose. The problem is we are not perfect. As smart as we think we are, we are not all-wise. As strong as we think we are we are not omnipotent. We have a limited understanding of well… everything.
The good thing is, there is someone who is not limited. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-seeing, eternal, and incomparable. He never changes and is sovereign and holy. He is all those things, plus love. He loves you and me and wants the best for us. He will not leave us to handle life on our own if we accept His lordship over our lives.
He reminds us of our need for Him in Isaiah.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9, NASB)
Time with God by reading His Word or talking with Him will help strengthen our capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance, giving us a proper perspective.
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perspective
WOW! If you were not in the photo those steps would just look like normal steps. But seeing that each step is not just huge BUT that the rise of the step is knee high. Another thing that popped into my mind is unless a photo has an object with it to give it perspective the photo alone can be misleading. Which takes me to we cannot always believe what we see (in a single picture) as photos can easily deceive us to believe in an untruth. They say a picture never lies? well yes it can if perspective is not a part of the photo. The other observation of that photo is the power of life. Look at the plants growing in the rock wall.
Where is this wall and is it a dam?
Hey Teresa – one of the things that make the perspective so confusing is the vegetation. It looks so big because it’s close up. The embankment is on the side of a road along the coast of California somewhere. Can’t remember where. We weee just driving and saw it. It is not a dam, just the side of the road down to a low area. Thanks for your comment.
Brings to mind how often humanity will believe a photo over words. It is the “See I saw the picture so it is true!” because pictures don’t lie. Well this is an example that we need perspective to really see a photo of something as it really is in real life.
Love your analogies, Tim. Yes, God is the only true guide. And when I don’t hear His voice clearly, I need to wait.
Thanks so much, Joni. Waiting it tough, for sure.