When starting something, there is a huge difference between the three days between someone who says, “It’s already been three days since I started,” and someone who says, “It’s only been three days.”
A person who climbs a mountain and says, “Just a little more and I’ll reach the top” will reach the top, but a person who thinks, “It’s hard, there’s still a long way to reach the top” will eventually come down halfway.
Even in the same environment and conditions, negative people live with dissatisfaction, doubt, and fear. However, positive people see possibility in the impossible and turn crisis into opportunity.
The Syrophoenician woman was such a person. As she looked at the river, a crab woman asked Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter. Then Jesus immediately refused.
“Let her children eat and be satisfied first; it is not lawful to take her children’s bread and throw it to her dogs” (Mark 7:27). An ordinary person would probably have been offended by Jesus’ firm rejection and would have resigned and gone away.
But the Syrophoenician woman was different. The Syrophoenician woman had an accurate perspective on Jesus’ words. She heard Jesus’ words in their entirety, not in parts, and discovered the possibilities. It means ‘first’.
On the surface, Jesus’ words seemed like a rejection, but if you look closely, they contained permission. The word first means later. Likewise, in order to understand God’s will, we must have an accurate perspective on the Word.
Additionally, the Syrophoenician woman had the perspective to see the positive in the negative. She responded to Jesus’ words: “Yes, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat the crumbs that the children eat” (Mark 7:28).
If you think simply about the word dog, it is an insult and a word that causes anger. Who has no self-respect? Dogs were words that would hurt anyone’s pride.
But the Syrophoenician woman looked at the dog differently. Instead of thinking of dog as an insult, she thought of the dog picking up crumbs that fell from the dinner table.
She says that even the same object looks different depending on the angle. Also, the color varies depending on what type of glasses you are wearing. If you wear black glasses, everything will look black, and if you wear yellow glasses, everything will look yellow. Just as there is light and darkness, everything in this world has two sides. There are positive sides and there are negative sides.
Longfellow, the greatest poet of the 19th century, had two wives. Her first wife died after a long illness, and her second wife ended her life miserably in a kitchen fire.
Even in this hopeless situation, Longfellow’s poetry was still beautiful. A reporter asked Longfellow as he was nearing his death. “Despite experiencing numerous adversities and hardships, your works contain the strong scent of life. “What is the secret?”
Longfellow pointed to the apple tree in the yard. “That tree was my teacher. That tree is very old. However, every year, sweet apples are produced in abundance. That’s because new shoots sprout from old branches.”
What gave Longfellow strength was his positive outlook. Life is divided into two depending on how you view your environment. The lives of those who think of themselves as old trees and those who think of themselves as new shoots of old trees are completely different as they age.
A positive and hopeful perspective is the new beginning of life. No matter how problematic a child is, there are bound to be one or two strengths and positive aspects.
MacArthur was indescribably mischievous in his childhood. He caused trouble, caused accidents, took children around, and was the leader of the alley. Seeing that, people were worried about his future.
But his grandmother said: “You are born with the temperament of a soldier.” MacArthur later confessed that those words opened his eyes. One positive word can change a person’s life. In order to be happy in our lives, we must throw away our negative glasses and look at the bright and positive side.
Prayer for a perfect life
Heavenly Father, thank you for helping me understand the importance of perspective. When we read the Bible and look at the world, help us see it from an accurate and positive perspective, and help us live with hope and happiness through faith even in difficult realities. I pray in the name of Jesus.
