I’ve recently lost a not-insignificant amount of excess weight after decades of frustrating attempts to lower my BMI. One surprising discovery from this change is just how much my mood affects my perceptions; when the scale shows me that my weight is going down, I look in the mirror and am amazed at the progress I’m making. However, if there is a gain of even a few ounces, I see my previous fatter self looking back at me.

I’ve been surprised to find that my mood has such an impact on what I see in the mirror. Feelings of discouragement seem to cloud my vision, while a sense of accomplishment shows me not only my current reality, but future possibilities, as well.

That old saying, “It’s all a matter of perspective,” holds true. Where I am emotionally can change what I see as real.

Although that philosophy has been used prop up relativism and to undermine the idea of absolute truth, we mustn’t dismiss the idea 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 perspective 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, grows out of our perspective, the way we view the world. 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, pity 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.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:32 (NIV)