A Matter of Perspective
I stand 5’10”. I’m about average for a guy. Next to a toddler, I tower over the little one seeming very, very tall. Next to a 7-foot tall NBA player, I look very, very short.
It all depends on who I am standing next to. Taking that to an extreme, next to an ant I am huge. Next to a mountain, I am merely a speck. Am I tall or short? Am I huge or a speck? It’s all a matter of perspective. What are you comparing me to?
Second Corinthians 4:17 says: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (NIV84).” Paul describes his struggles as “light and momentary.” From what perspective is Paul’s struggles short-lived and easy to bear? Was it because he had not been through much that would be considered difficult to handle?
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul gives a litany of what he has been through: floggings, shipwrecks, dangers, lack of sleep, hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness and more. Paul had been through extremely difficult circumstances for the cause of Jesus, so we cannot infer that his journey had been easy.
How can he refer to his struggles as “light and momentary”? What would ever make his list of experiences seem easy to survive? The answer is perspective. In life Paul’s struggles are huge when compared to what the normal person experiences. But, Paul was not comparing his journey to the average path. He was comparing his difficulties to the “eternal glory that far outweighs the all.” His perspective was from the viewpoint of eternity and the greatness of heaven rather than the short-sightedness of this life and the commonness of this world.
What about you? What do you compare your struggles to? Is your perspective comparing your burdens to the experiences of those around you? Or, can you raise your perspective to view your current struggles to the awesomeness of eternity?
If you will gain an eternal perspective in light of heaven and all that will be experienced in the glory and presence of Christ, you can also view your hard times as “light and momentary.” This change in mindset is not because your tough times are not extremely difficult. Indeed, for so many, the struggles in life are extremely hard to bear and survive. There are plenty of times when you might rightly question if you can even press on.
From an earthly perspective, there is nothing “light and momentary” about your problems. Instead, when you compare your current hardships to the greatness of heaven, you can see that you can make it through your struggles today because one day you will step into the incredible forever of heaven and experience the unbelievable presence of God as you see Him face to face.
For Paul, it was a matter of perspective. He had a proper perspective. What are you comparing your struggles to? What is your perspective?