Have you ever noticed how multiple people can look at the same circumstances and come to different conclusions? Depending on opinions we already have, we are very good at twisting reality into something which confirms what we want to think. If we want to think someone is "bad", we're going to see every action they take as either "bad" or as a fake-good action which is really just masking a "bad" intent.
Some of us experienced this when we began the journey of planting The Well. Those who had already decided that this church was a "bad thing" saw what they wanted to see. Every attempt to include others in the calling was seen as a shifty move to "steal" people away from their existing churches. Every attempt to avoid perceptions of "stealing people" were seen as The Well being exclusive and unwelcoming. It was a lose-lose situation with those people who had already decided that no good could come from what God had called us to do.
Sometimes perception is more convincing than truth. "Them's the breaks."
The first step to overcoming our own perceptions is to realize the burden we lay on ourselves when we concern ourselves with the approval of others. We can't control what a neighbor, colleague, or family member thinks of our choices so why obsess over their approval? You can actually see the dangers of being obsessed with "approval" in the Bible.
1When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan was bound to David in close friendship, and loved him as much as he loved himself. 2 Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as much as himself. 4 Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt. 5 David marched out with the army and was successful in everything Saul sent him to do. Saul put him in command of the fighting men, which pleased all the people and Saul’s servants as well. 6 As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments. 7 As they danced, the women sang: Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands. 8 Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward. (1 Samuel 18:1-9)
Notice the difference in Jonathan and Saul's dispositions. Saul was incredibly concerned with the approval of the masses which led him down a path to feel threatened. Ultimately he would make several attempts on David's life and see his powerbase crumble. Saul became obsessed with how own reputation and the approval of others; he lost sight of the miracles God was performing in David because he was too blinded by his own perception. Due to the shortcomings of his own perception, he lost sight of God's truth which lay before him.
Jonathan is a different story. Consider that Jonathan had everything to lose. He was the son of the king and surely could have seen David as a threat to his birthright. However, instead of being motivated by his own reputation, he was motivated by love. As a result, he gained a friend and was able to see the blessings of God worked through God's anointed. His perception was clear of any selfish ambition, and God blessed him as a result.
I believe God permits us to face difficult situations, which challenge our established perceptions, because he wants to see if we can see through the cloud of our own bias. He wants to see if we can "get over ourselves" for just long enough to see where HE is working. Is God trying to show you something which is obscured through a cloud of perception? The first step to fighting through it is to acknowledge it's there. Once we know our perception may mislead us, we can be on guard to see things more objectively and perceive God's truth instead of our own.
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