To be out and
about in the public eye these days is certainly an eye opener. So many people have such odd perspectives of
what is going on around them. I think
one must realize that in itself is the key.
Our perspective is what makes the difference in not only our day to day
lives but in our long term life style as well.
Let me see if I can explain what I mean.
If you view the
world as a hostile place just brimming with people whose only goal in life is
to be mean to other people, that is exactly what you are going to find in life
around you. Our perception is guided by
our expectations. Here's another and
simpler example. Did you realize how
many people drive cars just like yours before you got that car? Or if you have decided to buy a car and you
want a green one, have mercy you are seeing a lot of green cars on the road
these days aren’t you?
I had a fellow
tell me a while back he missed the days when we could share ideas with each
other and still be friends even though we had differences of opinion. I sat down with him and mostly just playing
the devil's advocate, I disagreed with almost everything he said. We laughed and joked for an hour and even now
I can't tell you one thing we agreed upon.
After a while, I brought this to his attention. At first he was shocked and then he just
broke out in uncontrolled laughter. With
his eyes filled with the tears of laughter he said I had played him for a
sucker. After some more conversation he
realized the truth of the matter and how much we had in common after all. He also realized he had somehow been
virtually programmed by not only the people around him but also by the
media. He expected people to violently
disagree and that is what he usually found.
His change of perception made all the difference in the world and he
started making friends of people with whom he never dreamed he could be
friends.
When God tells us
to love one another, He does not mean only if they agree with you. Unfortunately He also did not mean they are
going to love you back. It is not up to
us individually to change someone else’s opinions in order to make them love us. Actually it is quite the contrary. If you allow for and respect differing
opinions you will come much closer to securing that mutual relationship and as
I often jokingly say, “You can’t really go wrong if you just let them believe
what they want to believe even if they are wrong”.
God is good all the time.
