Sin: A distortion of perspective

[Jesus_is_LORD]

WORD OF THE DAY (— Genesis 2:25 , Genesis 3:9-10 )

"(2:25)And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed...... (3:9) And the LORD God

called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden,

and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."



MEDITATE ON THIS ( IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE DISTORTED? )

Of all the five senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing), I value my sight the most. As an individual

who wears glasses, I am aware that when the world around me is not in clear focus, or my perspective is distorted;

I do not see things in the world as they indeed are. This ends up resulting in some serious consequences.

For example, driving a car, reading, or even recognizing the face of a familiar friend can all be distorted when

I am without my glasses. In a similar sense, this concept of a distorted perspective is precisely what has

happened spiritually to us since Adam and Eve sinned. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were both naked

yet felt no shame; however, after they sinned, though their situation (nakedness) was the same; their

perspective about it changed. Something once innocent and good(their nakedness) became something that led to

shame and the need to cover up. Fortunately for us there is hope; Jesus can restore the distorted perspective that

sin brings to our minds and emotions.


Sin has distorted our perspective. Good things we see as bad and bad things we see as good.

This perversion of God's creation leads to many problems. Two ways in which sin distorts our

perspective is in the focus and the span of our glance. First, sin distorts the focus

of our glance by narrowing it to ourselves. As a result, sin leads to narrow perspective, one that

results in very selfish and self-centered behaviors. Secondly, sin distorts the span of our glance.

Instead of seeing our actions in terms of the longevity of the consequences of our choices, sin distorts

the span of our glance, having us look at only the here and now. As a result, many people find themselves

acting in ways that only benefit themselves and for the short term, forfeiting thinking the long term impacts

of their actions and how their actions impact others.


Fortunately, we have Jesus who can restore the distorted perspective that has been brought

about by sin. He does this through His WORD (the Holy Bible), which renews our mind and widens

the span of a distorted here-and-now perspective. This (renewing of our minds through the Bible)

allows us to see our actions clearly in light of their future and eternal impacts. Secondly, Jesus gives

us His Holy Spirit, which broadens and restores the focus of our distorted narrow perspective. With a

broader focus, we see others and thus consider them in our choices instead of only focusing narrowing on

ourselves.


When we decide what is right and wrong for ourselves, this is sin. The result is a perspective

which is distorted in focus(self-centered) and span(here-and-now). However when we let God decide

what is right and what is wrong, we are blessed to see things clearly, having the mind and vision of Christ.



-With love, your Brother in Christ
WNL




Thought for the Week
Sin distorts our perspective but Jesus restores it through
His WORD and Holy Spirit.



Prayer for the week:
Dear God, thank you for your precious WORD which restores our
distorted perspective. Please allow me to live a lifestyle that
does not grieve the Holy Spirit and to make time to feed on
the WORD of God so that my perspective will be renewed
daily. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.