Perception

The grid we see things in is extremely important. How we perceive things greatly shapes our lives and thinking. The adage is that we can view life as half full or half empty. Your approach determines how you view the world and people. We can also see things through lies or distortions or through the truth. Some people, it seems, can also manufacture false memories. Our perception determines the reality we live.

A psychologist wrote a book in 1994 called Scripts People Live: Transactional Analysis of Life Scripts, by Claude Steiner. People develop life scripts that shape how they interpret their experiences. For instance, someone might develop a script that “everybody lets them down.” So that person with this script might arrange to connect with people who will let them down to prove their script and then continue to live it out. They may also unconsciously push people away and be disloyal, and thus prove their point. There are all kinds of variations of how this script might be lived out. Scripts are like habits and are hard to break without conscious effort over a period of time, although there can be an initial break or supernatural break according to God's sovereign work within. Some people can have a lot of good relations and experiences, but develop a distorted or evil script anyway.

Today, since Science is defined as the essence of everything, has been the prominent ideal of what is truth, there has been a great disappearance of morality and religion. Science has become the new God for our culture. This leaves the world open to many evil, dysfunctional and evil scripts to be lived out and for lies and distortions to abound.

Jesus gives us a Parable packed with truth in Matthew 25:14-30. “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. The one who had received the five talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents. In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

“Now, after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have earned two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

“Now the one who had received the one talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed. And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours.’

“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You worthless, lazy slave! Did you know that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed? Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore, take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

One talent was equivalent to 20 years' wages for a labourer. At 15.00 an hour, that is 30,000 per year. That is a lot of money to be entrusted with. The first two men, by investing their money, doubled what they were given. The last man was afraid and hid his money in the ground. At least he didn’t squander it like the prodigal son. The reason that he did this was that his perception of the owner, and in this case, it refers spiritually to God, was a wrong perception. He said, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed. And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24-25)

Some view God as the great egotist. You either do what I say, or you will go to hell. The truth is that we are all destined to hell because of the just penalty of sin, and God has provided us a way to be saved from hell, at a great cost to Himself and based only on His goodness, mercy and grace. Others view God as the great manipulator. I’ll get you to do what is good and what I say because it makes me feel good about myself. He chooses to love because his essence is love. (1 John 4:8) The Trinity is complete in Himself; He loves not because he needs us. We can respond to his love, or we can reject it, and God will honour that choice. Still others view God as transactional. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. God, I will serve you if you give me what I want and if life goes my way. As God’s word says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). In God there is no darkness, no evil, not even a speck. He is absolute goodness. There is no selfishness, no pride, no egotism. No darkness whatsoever.

Consider that God came in the flesh in Jesus Christ and let his own creation nail him to the cross that in his preordained will decreed to redeem man from His emptiness, sin and hell and heal our souls and life. We are saved by grace, and we live by grace. Grace is unmerited favour. We serve him because he is the way of wisdom, and we love him. We don’t serve Him to earn his love. His love is received, and the normal and honourable response is gratitude with integrity. Is this a picture of hardness, as the non-productive man stated or the God of enormous humility and gentleness? What you believe, know, and experience of God will determine how you live.

Does God reap where he does not sow, as the man stated? He is God. What do you call the cross? Did he not sow the seeds of redemption? He gave when we didn’t deserve it.

As John the Apostle stated in the Bible, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). God does not want to condemn but wants you to be healed and find life. He desires your soul to be primarily healed and to find your true center in a love relationship with Him. He wants your good to his glory, and His glory includes the fullness of the purity of goodness. He invites us to come and live in Him.

People have all kinds of distortions of God that Satan works hard at to deceive as many people as possible. This is especially true of the end times. We need to see God as he really is and get to know him by reading the Bible and acting with the Holy Spirit in understanding God’s word and living out a love relationship with God. He calls us to live in harmony or union with Him and experience true life.

However, God is also not a patsy. You can’t manipulate Him and tell him what he must do. God sees past you trying to use him to only build your own kingdom rather than primarily build the Kingdom of God.

Would you receive what Jesus has done for you on the cross? Will you ask him to be your saviour and surrender to him and stop trying to be your own God and recognize him as God and enter into his love and walk in the way that leads to the fullness of life? He is our strength for the journey. Pray and ask Jesus to forgive your sin and be your Saviour and Lord. Respond to him in love. See God as he really is, and your life will be set free from dysfunctional scripts and lies. This might take a while, but you must have a start and conversion by the Holy Spirit is the start. It is absolutely beautiful, and so is the process of His progressive character transformation. However, as Dallas Willard has said, “Character is harder to change than moving a mountain.” In God, all things are possible. See reality as it truly is. See God as He has revealed Himself and spend time getting to know Him.

Resources

Knowing God, J.I. Packer

Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard

Living In God’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God, Dallas Willard.

Saved From What, R.C. Sproul

Right With God: The Basics, Alan J. Niebergal