Choosing Your Lenses

I hate scary movies. I mean HATE. You know, like the Plain White Ts say, "Hate is a strong word, but I really really really don't like you." 

Ok, so that may be a bit strong. But really, scary movies are not my thing. I’ll be the first to admit that I am a “scaredy-cat.”

I remember when I was just a kid I begged my mom to let me watch “It” with my older brother and his friends. I wanted so badly to be considered grown up and I somehow thought scaring myself silly would prove it. What poor logic! (Kind of like the time I watched Arachnophobia when I myself have arachnophobia). “It” was a bad, bad decision. I don’t remember how long my nightmares lasted afterwards, but I do remember them plaguing a significant portion of my childhood.

That’s what happens when I watch a scary movie: it haunts me for awhile. In reality, it’s probably quite pathetic the way I respond to spooky stuff. I’d run up the energy bill because I would need constant lighting, and I would most likely jump (literally) into my bed for fear of something grabbing me from underneath.

It’s real sad.

Pretty easy to see why I don’t watch scary movies, isn't it? Call me crazy, but I’d prefer not to intentionally freak myself out.

This sort of mental phenomenon happens in other instances though, does it not? You know, like the time your significant other does something extremely romantic, and you can’t stop thinking about it/him/her for days. Or when you finally get that job that you've been working for and you’re on cloud nine. Whatever it may be, good or bad, when something with any degree of intensity finds its way into our brain, it stays there for a little while.

Eventually it will fade, but for a moment you see the world through a different lens. (After a scary movie, I see the world through the, “Everyone is out to get me, there’s something in my room, someone will probably attack me in the shower, I’m never going in the basement,” lens).  

How important does this then, the idea of intentionally choosing your lenses, make it for us to continually and constantly delve into the bible?

If you were regularly diving into the truth of the word, you would routinely be seeing the world through that same truth.

I can only imagine what my life would be like if I lived it in the confidence of God’s truth; there are so many scars that could be healed and entrapments escaped. It’d be unbelievable! The power of the countless lies I believe would no longer exist, and I would be free from their suffocating oppression.

I think Job is a great example: a “blameless and upright” man whose children were killed, possessions and wealth were destroyed, and body had become diseased. Despite the numerous trials with which he was plagued, he held his faith in the goodness and truth of God.

“I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.” Job 23:12

Job held to his faith through the truth found in the word; the truth that unveiled God’s character and promises while destroying the lies of the world. Such confidence didn't come from reading the bible once, twice, or ten times. Instead it came from a high esteem of God’s truth that encouraged him to read it daily. Job understood the power of the word.

I could easily list a handful of truths that would be beneficial for my heart to know, and yet I sometimes find it so difficult to dive into these regularly. Why is it so hard? I think I have convinced myself that, because I have read these truths before, they've already been written on my heart.

“I've heard that already, no need to read it again,” I think.

This is so far from the truth! In fact, such an idea completely undermines the power of the gospel and, more simply, the power of repetition.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow.”Hebrews 4:12

I oftentimes forget that the truth of the gospel is so much stronger than myself, and I can only take on its strength when I continually fill myself with its words.

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes … put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.” Ephesians 6:11, 13-14

If simply watching a scary movie adjusts the lenses through which I see the world, imagine what reading a book as powerful as the bible could do. Even more so by reading it daily! Those lenses have got to be glorious.

“If you hold to my teaching, then you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”-John 8:32