Perceptions – Understanding

Are you who I think you are, or who you want me to think you are?  Am I who you think I am, or am I who I present myself to be?  If we met face to face, would we know each other? Would you be able to predict what sort of person I am by what I have written? Suppose you wrote a short profile of me; would I recognize it? I am not sure I have the capability to give an accurate profile of myself, much less someone else. To portray who we really are takes an honesty and vulnerability that is exceedingly difficult to muster. It means dividing between who we really are and what we intend or hope to be. It means separating good intentions from reality.

We are all human; though rich, poor, beautiful, or homely, we all have the same basic needs. We cannot elevate ourselves beyond the basic existence of being human. In the end there is no difference in the needs between the most sophisticated person, or the man begging who has nothing. We all enter the world as helpless creatures wholly dependent on others, and sooner or later we will all die, and we will not bury ourselves. We brought nothing into this world and we will certainly take nothing with us when we leave.

My family tells me I have an everyday voice, and a phone voice. They sometimes laugh at the difference. I do not think I am much different than other people; haven’t you heard others do the same thing? It’s amazing how a grumpy morning growl can turn into a chipper hello when the phone rings. So, who is the real you? The morning growl or the chipper hello? Don’t get me wrong, I think we do well to put our best foot forward; yet few people outside our homes and families know the everyday person we are.

Humans tend to use others to make them feel good about themselves. I have often seen this happen and have been guilty of doing it myself. By presenting ourselves as incompetent or less than up to the status quo, we manipulate others to pump us up with their praises. Although this may be quite normal, it can also have to do with a deep personal insecurity. That insecurity may also present itself in being overbearing and controlling. This perception is a method of self-protection which causes us to react to life and those around us. It may not be possible to completely remove this propensity from our human perception, but to use it or live in it, is unhealthy for ourselves and our relationships with others. It is draining for other people, because it relies on them for security, rather than having a healthy view of ourselves and who God created us to be. Both elevated and negative thoughts can have their roots in the same insecurities. One uses dominance to cover its insecurity, while the other uses other people to fill the void.

What got my mind thinking about this was reading a writer’s blog post. He tends to talk about himself in a bit of a negative light. I have not decided if it is intentional, or if it is a genuine, authentic, analysis of who he really feels he is. After listening to one of his books, I deduce it could be a bit of both. Having experienced tragedy in his childhood, he continues to bear the repercussions in the recesses of his inner self. In his writing, he uses enough self-depreciation to portray his vulnerable human side, and people love him for it. His school of hard knocks has given him compassion for the underdog, and the ability to see the good through the varnish covering people and society.

Another thought: I wonder if I can accurately present who I really am? Is it even possible to write or talk, and give others an accurate description of ourselves? Who I really am could be even beyond the scope of your imagination. Now before your mind runs off and reads too deeply into that comment, stop, and take it at face value. I may have a combination of personality traits that you have never seen before.

We talk about first impressions; most often when we see a person we do not know, we form an impression of them. Later, we may realize they are completely different than we imagined. This may be because the individual has similarities to someone we already know.

Now, how do you perceive God? We know that it is impossible to really understand Him, because He is so far above our realm of imagination. After all, He created the earth and everything in it out of nothing. As for us, we cannot make anything except from what He has already created. Although He is above our comprehension, He has not left us without witnesses of Himself.

First, we have His word through which we gain knowledge of God’s attributes. His love, His judgments, and His will, are visible in the Bible. All the stories we read give us an insight into His character. Those attributes remain the same throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Secondly, we have His Son Jesus who is part of Him, and bears the merciful side of His being. He embodies the love the Father has for all mankind. His witness is also visible through the Old Testament prophecy and fulfilled in the New Testament.

Thirdly we have His Holy Spirit as His present guide and witness. He does not speak of himself, but rather is the voice of the Father guiding us in the day-to-day things of life. He guides the Christian in the daily things of life, as well as opens our understanding of the scriptures with his quiet gentle voice of inspiration.

Although none of these solely portray the complete picture of the nature of God, combined they give us a pretty good picture of Him. By reading the Bible, we see it portrayed in the harmony of the scriptures.

Although God Himself did not pen the scriptures, He had faithful men to whom He gave inspiration to write them. It is through their perception and understanding of God, that gives us insight to His fullness and personage. The Bible has many such witnesses and writers. Though they lived at different times, and did not have personal knowledge of each other, their writings all point to the same attributes.

In the Old Testament, God was a God of law and judgment. It was an eye for an eye, and mercy was shown to few. However, that changed in the New Testament with the coming of Jesus, who became our Savior and advocate to the Father. He embodied the love and mercy of God. This in no way removed the God of the Old Testament, but rather was the fulfillment of what the law was striving to accomplish. The law had no power to save man, but taught man that he alone was incapable of the perfection which the law required. With the coming of Jesus, He took the sin of the world, satisfied the judgment for sin, and stands as mercy and grace for all who believe and trust Him.

If we were to ask a group of people their impression of God, we likely would come up with a variety of answers. Some may feel like He is waiting to strike us down, while others may say it does not really matter what we do; His love covers all our sin. To correctly understand the true will of God, both individuals may need to adjust their views. Our perception of God may have been formed by what we have experienced in life. Influential adults in a child’s life will also influence their perception of Him. This is neither right nor wrong, but rather the way our past experiences influence our views of current events. The Holy Spirit is invaluable as a comforter and teacher on the pathway of life; the Christian cannot be without him. As we lay aside any preconceived ideas, and walk daily with him, he will teach us about the true nature of God and guide us in the way of truth.

At times it would be helpful for us to see how insecure, vulnerable, and human everyone is on the inside. We are all made of the same thing and have similar needs. Circumstances are the main differences between the highest and lowest of society. Speaking of earthly things: opportunity, health, wealth, and education are large contributors to the differences between people and nations of the world. At the time, most of these things were a matter of who our parents were, rather than a matter of choice on our part. People are born into wealthy families and nations, health is a gift from God, and education usually depends on circumstances, and the environment around us.

The Christian finds a common connection in God, which crosses all borders of social status and race. The oneness experienced in Christ is beyond the levels of human society, which is part of a spiritual kingdom of peace which is not dependent on earthly status. They have all become children of God, born into His spiritual kingdom. When a person becomes a child of God, it changes their perception and understanding of God. They look at the world through different eyes, eyes of faith, love, and compassion. Old impressions fade being replaced by new spiritual vision.

When Christian brothers and sisters share their hearts, it invokes brotherly care and compassion and they learn that they are not so different from each other. To truly understand the heart of someone you must come in really close. Not with judgment, but with an understanding heart of compassion. This means becoming vulnerable. When you do that, you may be surprised to find that the individual is somewhat different than what you thought. Sharing, if done in love without judgment, is bound to draw people together.

The same thing holds true when it comes to understanding the true nature of God. We can take what we read about Him in His Word and form impressions of Him. However, when we enter a personal relationship with Him, we will then learn to know His true character. Although we do not have a visible picture of God, we can have a spiritual understanding of Him.

May we draw close to God, so we can gain more of a personal intimate knowledge of Him. It may change our perception.