How much attention should we pay to others’ perception and opinion of us? Things aren’t always what they seem and neither are we. I heard an interesting sermon on the car radio this week titled, “From Zero to Hero at the drop of a stick”. It was based on Acts 28, which depicts Paul’s survival from shipwreck. While helping to build a fire to warm and dry them, Paul picked up a bundle of sticks containing a serpent that bit him. When people around him saw it they immediately thought that he must be a murderer or very evil person who was receiving justice that would end his life. When he shook it off into the fire and was not harmed by the bite, they immediately thought he must be a god and began to worship him. Of course neither of those two perceptions (bad or good) was true.
I was reminded how Job’s friends reacted to his misery. They knew Job was a righteous, God fearing man who had been blessed greatly by God in so many ways. So when those friends saw his horrible condition they immediately thought he must have sinned or done something to anger God and deserve punishment. They advised him to repent and ask God to forgive and restore him. They were reacting to their perception of the situation. Only God, Job and Satan knew that Job’s devotion to God had not wavered in spite of all of that severe testing. When Job tried to tell them, their perception deafened them to the truth.
Although human perception is unreliable, it often becomes reality to us. That is why accepting the perception and opinion of others, whether those perceptions are negative or positive, is dangerous. It causes our perception and opinion of ourselves to become unreliable and more often than not – false.
God does not perceive – He knows! Only God and I know the content of my heart, my thoughts and my motives. Only God can encourage me when I am obedient to His will and correct me when I go astray. His opinion is all that matters. My calling as a believer is to live so that people around me can see the light of Christ radiating from me. How they perceive and react to that light is between them and God and has very little to do with me personally. They will either reject me as they reject Christ or they will accept me as they accept Him. Either way, their perception of me has more to do with their relationship with God than with me personally.
We must not take what people say or think about us (good or bad) personally. Our self-esteem must be based instead on what God knows about us and says to us through His word and His Holy Spirit within us. By the same token, we must not judge others by our perception of them or their condition. Only God knows their heart, their thoughts and what they are going through. The best we can do is to introduce them to Him or encourage them to renew their relationship with Him. He will work miracles in their life just as He has done in yours and in mine.