Articles
What do you see?
What do you see?
Corey Sawyers
Two-weeks-ago, I ran an article that seemed to resonate with several “It Is All About the Garbage.” This is a follow-up to that article from a different perspective. It is not intended to nullify my belief that taking out the garbage is part of the solution to our problems, but to emphasize that even though we are surrounded by garbage, it does not have to hinder our view.
Fighting and unrest ... Domestic protests ... Racial riots ... Rallies for "love" ... Troubles politically. No, these are not the headlines for 2018. They are the headlines for 1967. This means that 50-years-ago, the country's headlines and news stories sounded as bleak and depressing as today's headlines. In the midst of 1967, Louie Armstrong released a song that has been a favorite of mine for some time. The lyrics of What A Wonderful World are beautiful, and teach that we can choose to see what we want to see ...
I see trees of green, red roses, too,
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue, and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,
Are also on the faces of people going by.
I see friends shaking hands, sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really sayin', "I love you."
I hear babies cryin'. I watch them grow.
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
How could such words be written and sung during such a stormy time? Notice, eleven times he says, "I see," "I hear," or "I watch." He follows each of these with, "I think to myself." It was not WHAT he saw that mattered as much as HOW he saw. He chose to look at the bright side, the good side, the best things.
Lately, the news has been dominated by troubles, mudslinging, fighting, arguments, kidnappings, murder and unrest. Brotherhood publications and posts often speak of the desperate situation in which the church finds itself. Many have declared the dismal prospects of what Christians will face in the coming days and years - revoked tax exemptions, persecution and legal charges.
While I realize these are real possibilities, I still must ask, why are we so gloomy? First, we do not know that is the way things will happen in the future. For all we know, there may be a grand turn toward truth! Second, even if we do face tough times, perhaps extremely rough times, should that make us downtrodden and sad? The Bible is littered with tough situations in which godly men and women found themselves. These seemed to be just awful but turned out to be times of great victory and growth (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Ruth, Esther, Job, the First Century church, Paul and Silas, and so on). God is still in charge! Jesus is still on His throne!
The key is how do we see our situation? How do we look at our circumstances? Jonah saw the inhabitants of Nineveh as evil people who did not deserve God's truth. God saw them with compassion (4:12). That which seemed like the most unlikely place and time for preaching wound up in a great revival! So, will we look at the problems around us, stick our heads in the ground, and pitifully wait for the return of the Lord? On the contrary, will we be happy, excited, and encouraged that we are God's children? Will we see great opportunities to serve God by sharing GOOD NEWS when so many around us need it? Will we see the victory has already been won by Jesus?
Will we see gloom and doom ... or, will we think to ourselves, "What A Wonderful World!" as the song says?
Yes, I think to myself, "What a wonderful world ... Oh Yeah!"
