A fresh perspective …

If someone had a broken leg, would you hand them a pair of crutches and send them on their way?

If someone had a knife stuck between their shoulder blades, would you tell them not to lean back when they sit down?

If someone had a car that didn’t have any brakes, would you recommend they drive slowly?

The responses to each one of the scenarios above have a level of benefit, but not nearly enough. It’s not enough to simply supply with crutches a person who has a broken leg; they need medical care to reset the leg so it can heal properly.

It’s not enough for a person who has a knife protruding from between their shoulder blades to not sit back, thus pushing the knife deeper into them; they need the knife removed and the wound cared for so they can heal.

It’s not enough to tell the person who has a car without brakes to drive slowly; this person shouldn’t drive their car until brakes are added to the function of the car so they and others will be safe when they do drive the vehicle.

And it’s not enough for church leaders to keep telling those they lead to change their perspectives.

As human beings, our capacity to see things rightly or righteously is broken. Sin has warped our thoughts and flooded our desires to such a degree that simply changing perspectives will not result in right thinking or life transformation. Yes, we do need to redirect our thinking, but the heart of man continues to return his thoughts to sin. For true life transformation, we must have God change the way we think, or we will continue to live with perspectives far less than the truth and holiness God has called us to.

“Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” Ephesians 4:23.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect,” Romans 12:2.

It is true we must do our part in changing our thinking. But if the only change we experience is how we tweak our own perspectives, we will still be broken, unable to live to the standard of holiness God has set for us. To be truly transformed requires God to change our thinking so that we are capable of living righteously and pursuing holiness. That’s much more than a change of perspective.

Scotty