Frames - Your Perspective Is Everything!Sample

Human Frames Vs. God Frames

We're born with human frames and a human nature that causes us to see things and people a certain way. When we first see someone, we make assumptions by the way that they look. It could be their age, gender, clothes, skin color, accent, or several other variables that we initially notice. We immediately try to figure out who this person is through our human frames. Many times, we get it all wrong.

I'm a pastor in an urban area where people regularly come to our church asking for money. One night at an event, I was talking to someone in our church lobby, and I saw a guy walk in the door and talk to someone and that person pointed at me. I knew he had just asked, "Where is the pastor?" He came up to me and I was ready to hear a story of how he needed gas money for his car broke down around the corner, or for a bus ticket to go see his sick mother. At the moment, I was a little jaded and looking at him through human eyes. Boy, was I wrong! This guy told me he was with the fireworks company that was going to set up a tent in our parking lot. I asked him how long he had worked for the fireworks company, and then my jaw dropped. I was talking to the owner with one hundred plus locations. Then he started telling me he wanted to partner with us and help us with outreach.

Over the past five years, his company has helped us with dozens of outreaches to serve our community. Even greater than that, we have become friends and I have ministered to their family. Just imagine if I would have let my human frames take over and told him I didn't have time to talk to him. I could have missed it. Ask God to help you see others through his frames today!

Second Corinthians chapter 5 tells us that we are part of God's street team. We are called to represent Him everywhere we go. This passage talks about the old life being gone and the new life beginning. Now that we are a new people, we must stop looking at others through human frames and see them through God's frames.

Reframing Questions for today:

Have you ever looked at someone through human frames and got it all wrong?

How can you reframe your current view on someone to begin to see their potential instead of their problems?