Perception is Not Reality
Before beginning this small piece of biographical literature (yes, technically you've already begun), you must know one thing. When I process the word "reality", I equate it with the word "truth", and consequently its finality. Reality's base word, real, gives it that kind of weight. Real, genuine, meaning not fake or fabricated. Truth.
I'm sitting at a lathe in the back of the shop, alone. I have the entire south wing to myself (and Jack on the infrequent occasions he's at the grinder on the far side of the room). Now that we can listen to music while we're working (a change that has been both unexpected and very welcomed), I've been taking full advantage. I try to push myself until at least coffee break (9:30) without music, or at least until 8:30.
I try to make sure any thoughts awaiting process, or prayers on my heart, are first taken care of. Otherwise the music becomes an involuntary distraction and then I get a backlog of thoughts and ideas. That stresses me out. I need time to think. I need time to process the reality of my life. To sort through the distracting emotions and desires, the inconsistensies and curiousities I've projected onto the fray.
And where better to go than the author of the book of truth Himself?
So we talk a lot, Jesus and I. He's that friend that's always with me, so it's not that we're talking about events because He was (is) there and already knows. It's more that I want to know what's really going on and what He's doing with it all.
Because there is truth; an absolute truth and He knows what it is.
My perception is not necessarily the reality of a situation. I was just talking with Alyssa on the phone and she gave me a great example. She has an illustration oriented book filled with all sorts of photographs of facial expressions. One in particular is a woman, who, all observations accounted for, is crying. That is how many would, and Alyssa did, perceive her.
To say that "perception is reality" is to say that reality, or truth, is relative. I might perceive the woman as laughing. Now, it is possible that both Alyssa and I are wrong. But we cannot both be right. Only one of our perceptions can be reality. The woman cannot be simultaneously laughing and crying. Yes, I know, I've laughed to the point of tears but that's not the kind of crying I'm talking about.
The author, who was present for during the photograph, stated that the woman is, in fact, laughing. Was Alyssa's perception unreasonable? Certainly not! The author even admits to it seeming the truth to himself. But was Alyssa's perception reality? No. It was wrong. It wasn't the truth.
There are those who will argue still and say truth is relative; there is no absolute truth. But that right there? That's a contradiction. If it were correct, it would itself be an absolute truth.
The author of Alyssa's book was there for the photograph and, though there are many possible perceptions of it, he conveyed to his readers the absolute truth of the situation. No matter how strongly you perceive her as doing otherwise, it does not change the fact that she is laughing.
One increasingly popular (at least I'm hearing about it more) misconception about God, among others, is that He cannot actually see into the future. That He cannot see around the bend in time. That He has no foreknowledge of things to come. But that's not the truth. It's a false perception.
You see, God is the author of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21) and, through it, conveys to us truths about Himself. From a broad perspective, the Old Testament is full of prophetic statements issued publicly by God through a prophet. There are many prophecies regarding Israel's future which all, through events of history, were proven true. God knew. Then there's the major prophetic message of the Old Testament. One is coming who will save and restore Irael (and the world), and who will rule over her: Jesus. The Messiah. Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And guess what? He came. God knew.
When God sent Moses to Pharaoh (Exodus 3:7-10), Moses asks of God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" (Exodus 3:13). And God replies, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 3:14). I love this name for God, which first appears here. He had no beginning and will have no end. He simply exists (though, I suppose "simply" is hardly the word). In the past, He is. In the present, He is. In the future, He is.
So thinking He doesn't know the future is a perception that proves to be false. God, the author of the Bible, our tangible source of truth, says otherwise (about Himself, mind you). If I were to ever write something about God that didn't agree with the Bible, I would be wrong. If you feel even God Himself is telling you something but it doesn't coincide with what the Bible, God's Word, teaches us, don't believe it for a second. Read it and know the truth. Know God. Ask and He will reveal Himself through Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit.
The absolute truth.
I'm sitting at a lathe in the back of the shop, alone. I have the entire south wing to myself (and Jack on the infrequent occasions he's at the grinder on the far side of the room). Now that we can listen to music while we're working (a change that has been both unexpected and very welcomed), I've been taking full advantage. I try to push myself until at least coffee break (9:30) without music, or at least until 8:30.
I try to make sure any thoughts awaiting process, or prayers on my heart, are first taken care of. Otherwise the music becomes an involuntary distraction and then I get a backlog of thoughts and ideas. That stresses me out. I need time to think. I need time to process the reality of my life. To sort through the distracting emotions and desires, the inconsistensies and curiousities I've projected onto the fray.
And where better to go than the author of the book of truth Himself?
So we talk a lot, Jesus and I. He's that friend that's always with me, so it's not that we're talking about events because He was (is) there and already knows. It's more that I want to know what's really going on and what He's doing with it all.
Because there is truth; an absolute truth and He knows what it is.
My perception is not necessarily the reality of a situation. I was just talking with Alyssa on the phone and she gave me a great example. She has an illustration oriented book filled with all sorts of photographs of facial expressions. One in particular is a woman, who, all observations accounted for, is crying. That is how many would, and Alyssa did, perceive her.
To say that "perception is reality" is to say that reality, or truth, is relative. I might perceive the woman as laughing. Now, it is possible that both Alyssa and I are wrong. But we cannot both be right. Only one of our perceptions can be reality. The woman cannot be simultaneously laughing and crying. Yes, I know, I've laughed to the point of tears but that's not the kind of crying I'm talking about.
The author, who was present for during the photograph, stated that the woman is, in fact, laughing. Was Alyssa's perception unreasonable? Certainly not! The author even admits to it seeming the truth to himself. But was Alyssa's perception reality? No. It was wrong. It wasn't the truth.
There are those who will argue still and say truth is relative; there is no absolute truth. But that right there? That's a contradiction. If it were correct, it would itself be an absolute truth.
The author of Alyssa's book was there for the photograph and, though there are many possible perceptions of it, he conveyed to his readers the absolute truth of the situation. No matter how strongly you perceive her as doing otherwise, it does not change the fact that she is laughing.
One increasingly popular (at least I'm hearing about it more) misconception about God, among others, is that He cannot actually see into the future. That He cannot see around the bend in time. That He has no foreknowledge of things to come. But that's not the truth. It's a false perception.
You see, God is the author of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21) and, through it, conveys to us truths about Himself. From a broad perspective, the Old Testament is full of prophetic statements issued publicly by God through a prophet. There are many prophecies regarding Israel's future which all, through events of history, were proven true. God knew. Then there's the major prophetic message of the Old Testament. One is coming who will save and restore Irael (and the world), and who will rule over her: Jesus. The Messiah. Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And guess what? He came. God knew.
When God sent Moses to Pharaoh (Exodus 3:7-10), Moses asks of God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" (Exodus 3:13). And God replies, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 3:14). I love this name for God, which first appears here. He had no beginning and will have no end. He simply exists (though, I suppose "simply" is hardly the word). In the past, He is. In the present, He is. In the future, He is.
So thinking He doesn't know the future is a perception that proves to be false. God, the author of the Bible, our tangible source of truth, says otherwise (about Himself, mind you). If I were to ever write something about God that didn't agree with the Bible, I would be wrong. If you feel even God Himself is telling you something but it doesn't coincide with what the Bible, God's Word, teaches us, don't believe it for a second. Read it and know the truth. Know God. Ask and He will reveal Himself through Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit.
The absolute truth.
posted by Still Daddy at 9:55 PM
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