The heading seems like a paradox. We had better know the truth about lies and perception. It will help us to put things in perspective. We live in a world of perception. Perception causes us to think in different ways, and sometimes, what we perceive is not the reality. Reality is truth. And truth brings true freedom if we own up to it. But not necessarily so with perception. Let me illustrate with a true story which I heard some time back. A group of factory workers who were also board members of a Church were walking home after work. As a habit they looked up at the Pastor’s flat, and saw the pastor’s wife running near the window with the Pastor running behind her with a stick. Of course they perceived that he was assaulting his wife. The pastor felt the ‘coldness’ from some of the congregation but could not put his finger on the problem. Obviously the story has been going around! After some tine, some of them came to talk to the Pastor about this. Then the Reality came to light! The Pastor was trying to kill a mouse in the apartment! It had nothing to do with assaulting his wife. But, you see, seeds were sown and the damage was done. See, reality is not perception. We murmur, and cause so much of pain because of the perception of certain situations in life. The reality is that God is greater than our problems.
Perception has something to do with our brain. When we are not sure of what the reality is in a particular situation, perception takes over. And if we are not careful, the perception becomes reality. This can lead to gossip and a whole lot of things including deformation of character and slander. These are very hurtful. Friendships are broken. Families are destroyed and parents and children are estranged. We have to be careful about the ‘pattern of thought’ in our lives or take stock of how we are used to think about situations.
Circumstances in life or experiences in life can make us to think in certain ways. For example a child who had grown up without a parent can become obsessive and possessive, and domineering about relationships in life. This can cause them to be suspicious over proactive, defensive in their way of thinking, which makes them to believe that the whole world revolves around them. They become so self-centred that others do not matter at all. It is an attitude of “I, me and mine”! Or if we have had tragic experiences in life we can become over cautious, and have the tendency to ‘look over the shoulder’ the whole time afraid of being stalked, or make sure that the door is locked five or six times before going to sleep. Or like me, you make sure the car key is in your hand or in your pocket over and over again, because you have had the keys locked up in the car before in an emergency and you don’t like that experience. It is the same with people who are afraid of cats or Dogs. Some believe that if a black cat crosses the road it to bad omen and that all dogs are monsters! I know of a person from Europe who had been living under the harsh conditions of World War 2. She will not even waste half a teaspoon of butter! If she comes to a party she will wrap this in a foil and take it home. Why? Because, experience in life has thought her not to waste any thing, and gets irritated to see food being wasted. Until very recently, I had a tendency to “hide” when I hear a helicopter over head. Why? Because my perception of a helicopter over head is that “they” shoot people down! That’s because I had gone through traumatic experiences in the land of my birth. Upbringing, culture, religion, and superstition have a strong influence in our mind as to how we perceive things.
We need to understand that we are surrounded with people of various perceptions of life, and that many times we are being misunderstood for what we have seemingly said or done. We need to guard our hearts and minds in order that we do not fall into the same trap. So what shall we do?
Ask the Lord to keep us from “presumptuous, wilful arrogant sins, and let them not have dominion or control over us” (paraphrased: Psalm 19:1) After all we are shaped by what we say and what we think. This is the “foundation” of our daily life. The whole day is either positive or negative based around what we say and think. We influence others by who we are. The next verse in Psalm 19: 2 goes like this: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto you O God” (KJV)
So then what do we do with our “problem” of perception? One: Take responsibility to what you perceived. I’ve asked people to forgive me for my wrong perception of things. This has brought so much inner healing. Two:We must know that “The we fight with spiritual weapons. They have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we Three: take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV) The Key is to "Take captive every thought, perception" This can only be done with a complete transformation of our mind. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12: 2 NIV) Four Obedience to the Word of God. This transformation can come ONLY when we obey the Word of God and align our thoughts to it. It’s by being consistent and disciplined in reading the Bible and applying the principles to our lives. Simply put this is called “Obedience” to the Word.
Remember, perception is do with our mind! Lying is to do with our words and life style! The wrong perception and a lying tongue and life style is a dangerous combination. This can cause havoc.We will discuss this in my next article about the truth about lies.
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