READING: Numbers 16-17
Perspective. It matters.
How we see something is often a reflection of where we are in life. I know I look at trials differently at age 55 than I did at age 25. In fact, I see all of life a bit differently because of the three decades of living that have occurred between those ages.
Sometimes, though, our perspective gets seriously skewed by sin. You likely remember that the Hebrews had been in bondage in Egypt prior to Moses’ leading them from their enemy’s land. The Egyptians worked them “ruthlessly" (Exo 1:13), and Pharaoh even demanded the death of Hebrew baby boys to prevent their later rebellion. Eventually, God would lead His people out of bondage only through the series of dramatic plagues, including the death of any firstborn whose home was not covered in the Passover blood. The land of Egypt had become a land of excruciating toil and gripping death.
Strikingly, the rebels we read about in today’s text, Dathan and Abiram, remembered Egypt quite differently when they stood against Moses and Aaron: “Is it not enough that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness?” (Num 16:13). Egypt had become a place of cruelty and slavery, but Dathan and Abiram recalled it with the phrase commonly used for the land God promised His people: “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Their sinful attitude toward Moses and Aaron had warped their perspective, their thinking now twisted by rebellion. Their words about Egypt as the land flowing with milk and honey were almost blasphemous.
We’re like that, you know. We start out following God, especially excited about the future when God is leading us from a place of hardship. When the future isn’t all we thought it would be, though, we start to see the past through sin-tainted glasses. We get so disappointed in God’s plan for the todays of our life that we remember our yesterdays differently. We remember peace where there was none, support where it didn’t exist, and fun where it seldom occurred. Our rebellion against God today results in a cry for yesterday; our thinking is as simple as this statement at times: “I followed Jesus, and things have gotten worse. Sometimes I wish I could go back, when life was better.”
That’s when we simply must remember: our sin taints our perspective.
That’s one reason why we must run continually to the Word of God to get God’s perspective. Only His view is perfect.
ACTION STEPS: Consider these steps today:
- If you’re angry with God for leading you in a way you didn’t expect, admit your anger to Him.
- If you’re frustrated with or jealous of some of God’s leaders (like Dathan and Abiram were), confess your feelings to God.
- If you long more for yesterday than for whatever God has for you today or tomorrow, recognize that your perspective might be strained by sin. Admit it. Ask God for help to see His perspective.
PRAYER: “God, make my perspective Your perspective today. Help me to trust You with my today and my tomorrows.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Numbers 18-20
