Do you look around? Do you see the people around you?

Perspective is the mash-up of two words. “Peri” is the word for “around.” Think perimeter. And “Spective” is “to look.” Think spectacles. Perspective is about the ability to see all around you. To see–not to just look.

My family took an epic RV trip last summer. We were on the road for 42 days and we visited 11 national parks–mostly the North and Western part of the US. I continue to draw upon the joy and peace from that trip almost a year later. It was formative for my family. My wife, Deanna, is a gifted photographer. We logged. 10,000 miles on our trip and just about as many pictures. The one you see above is one of my top 5 favorites from the whole trip. We enjoyed sledding down huge mounds of sand at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. This picture embodies much of the fun we had. Smiles and laughter mixed with gritty teeth and tears trying to flush out the sand from your eyes. What’s an epic adventure without tears?

Moments before this picture was taken, I hit record on the GoPro. The instructions were clear–take a selfie on the way down and make sure you get your sisters in the picture. She followed suit–to a tee! As such, I certainly don’t blame my daughter for this picture–and for her obliviousness to the scene playing out over her shoulder. But it is a powerful commentary on our world today, no?

Focused In On Oneself

Martin Luther defined sin as the posture of “being caved in on oneself.” Or “to stare at your own belly button.” Our selfish, sinful ways inhibit our perspective. Our belly button gazing hinders our ability to see the other.

What are ways to get our selfie culture’s eyes to look up and around instead of at our own filtered and photoshopped selves?

The challenge is that seeing others is the first step to loving others. And loving others is the second greatest commandment according to Jesus. And, as the Word, Jesus wrote the commandments (He is the embodiment of the commandments)–so He probably knows what He’s talking about. 

I’m a guy who needs to set up guide rules to help me stay on the right path. Some simple tricks and tips that help keep me on course and headed in the direction that I have deemed I’m supposed to walk. And, as a dad, I try to do the same for my children. Living in a selfie world all the time is not great. I think the picture on the sand dunes is indicative of this reality. With our eyes primarily staring back at ourselves we have modernized Luther’s picture of sin. Selfies make me the primary subject and object–the focus is all about me.

2 Practical Ways to Expand Your Perspective

My children are not old enough to have phones. They play on devices, but only in the house or when Mom or Dad are around. But, as they grow older, I know that these mini super computers will soon be in their hands everywhere they go. In light of this, a guide rule will be put into effect to help my kids gain perspective. For every selfie they have on their phone, there needs to be a selfie with another person in the photo. One solo selfie means one selfie with at least one other person in the frame. Reframing the use of the camera on cell phones is a great way to help our children and ourselves to see more clearly.

Another tactical way to turn our cameras off of ourselves and onto God’s work in the world is to give you and your loved ones a challenge each week. Take a picture during the week that best resonates with the main point from Sunday’s Bible reading and/or sermon. For example, this past Sunday was Pentecost and the truth of the day is “tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…” Acts 2:3-4. So be on the look out for the Holy Spirit at work. Capture with your camera a moment, a scene, or a person who is being used by the Holy Spirit. And share it with one another. 

Open your eyes. Look around you. See how God is working. Notice others who are waiting on you to be the one who God uses.

What are tactics you use to see from God’s perspective instead of just your own?