I once read about two boys who were raised by an alcoholic father. One of them grew up to be an alcoholic. When asked why he drank to excess he replied, “I watched my father.” His brother never drank alcohol. When asked why he never drank he replied, “I watched my father.” Their environment was exactly the same, so what made the difference? It was their different perspective and perception of that environment that sent them in different directions. We are not a product of our environment. We are a product of our own perspective of it.
I’m sure you have heard the example about a partial glass of water. The pessimist says the glass is half empty and the optimist says it is half full. While those two are arguing about it, the opportunist drinks the water. Those are three different perspectives of the same situation. What causes people to have different perspectives? One thing is attitude; when we have a positive attitude, we tend to see the good news and look past the bad news and when we have a negative attitude we concentrate on bad news and ignore the good.
Another thing that determines our perspective is positioning. There is a cartoon on social media that shows two men facing each other. On the floor between them are two numbers. One off them is yelling SIXTY-SIX and the other one is yelling NINETY-NINE. They are both correctly reporting what they see from their respective positions, but the numbers can’t be both so one of the men is out of position to have the correct reading of the situation,
You are probably wondering what all of this has to do with living the Christian life. Environment, perspective, attitude and positioning affect everyone, but Christians have the advantage of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the fruit produced by God’s Spirit within us, as described in Galatians 5:22-23, all of that positivity makes it impossible to have a bad attitude no matter how bad our environment may be at times. God will also continually position us to see clearly the truth. With the right attitude and position, we will always be able to make decisions in life that will be pleasing to God and best for us.
Some people feel the rain, while others just get wet. Feel the rain when you are going through a storm in life. Live the life God has planned just for you as His unique son or daughter. .