Perspective

You should have been there to hear the conversation between my two girls.  Emily, 3, was asking me what "jail" was like (we were on our way to the courthouse to pay auto registration).  Ashlyn, 7, confidently interjected that jail is a dark place with "lots of bones and mice around."  Laughing to myself, I let it go at first, interested to see where this was going.  Emily continued, "Do they give them dollies to play with?"  I told her no, that people who are in jail probably wouldn't really be interested in dollies.  In what seemed like disbelief, she cried, "Dollies is fun to play with in jail!"

After answering numerous questions and explaining to them the difference between a modern jail cell and the dungeons they see in cartoons, I realized that both Emily and Ashlyn were speaking from their own perspectives and were having a bit of difficulty seeing from another point of view.  Unfortunately, that is something that is not easy to outgrow.  Isn't it true that we have a hard time understanding things when they are not exactly matched with our thoughts and ideas?  God has created all of us uniquely, with different thoughts and gifts and personalities, and sometimes we just have a hard time "understanding" each other.  It some cases it can cause divisions and strife.  I love what Paul writes in Romans 12:16-18, "Be of the same mind toward one another, do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be wise in your own estimation.  Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Respect what is right in the sight of all men.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."  

Emily loves dollies.  She just could not understand why someone who is locked up would not want a dolly to play with.  As cute and silly as that is, we can't deny that we are the same way at times.  And like Ashlyn, it's not always intentional.  Sometimes it's just hard to get past our initial perspectives.  Music preferences.  Dress preferences.  Sermon preferences.  We need to grow beyond the thinking that our way is the only way and our opinion is the only right one.  As long as we have the same primary goals in mind--glorifying God with our lives and leading others to Christ with a Kingdom mindset--we can let our opinions be secondary.