I met a good friend for coffee earlier this week to catch up on each other’s busy lives. When she asked about my recent move I told her my relocation has given me a whole new outlook. As I spoke it came home to me that I do feel as though I’ve been given a fresh start in almost all the areas of my life. It seems odd that merely moving across town could have such an impact, but, then, we often hear the phrase, “It’s all a matter of perspective.”

That philosophy has been used prop up relativism and to undermine the idea of absolute truth, but we mustn’t dismiss the idea out of hand, simply because it has been misused. There are times when a person’s perspective clearly makes all the difference.

Those of us with a Christian worldview are motivated by a wish to please our Lord, while the secular viewpoint is to please oneself. How we react to circumstances, either good or bad, relies on our perspective. We may respond to difficulties with forbearance, looking for God’s will in unhappy events and feeling gratitude for our blessings. Or we can try to blame others for our troubles, feel sorry for ourselves in difficulties, and feel proud and self-satisfied when fortune smiles.

A skewed worldview based on lies can give us a false sense of where we are and where we are going. We are much more balanced and secure when we stand on the bedrock of truth.

How do you see it?