Your Objectivity
How do you look at things in your life? Let me tell you what a little boy thought about looking at things. "Wouldn't you hate to wear glasses all the time?" asked a small boy of his playmate. "No-o-o," the other boy answered slowly, "not if I had the kind of glasses that grandma wears. She sees how to fix a lot of things, and she sees lots of nice things to do on rainy days, and she sees when folks are tired and sorry, and what will make them feel better, and she always sees what you meant to do even if you haven't got things just right. I asked her one day how she could see that way all the time, and she said it was the way she learned to look at things as she grew older. So it must be her glasses, the boys thought.”
You and I know that they don’t make glasses like that, and if they did they would be in short supply. The truth behind the story is that everyone saw differently except the grandma. Where others saw problems and discouragements and vexations she saw how to fix them, encourage them and relieve them. What she had can’t be brought, you can’t order it, you can’t even get it at Christmas. What this little story brought out and what I want to talk about tonight is; your objectivity on your life. Have you ever thought about how you look at life? Have you ever thought about how you approach the different things that come to your life? If you haven’t hopefully you will before too long, because the way you look at your life will determine how you think, and how you think determines how you live and how you live determines your eternal rewards. In short, you need to ask yourself, Am I an objective Christian? There are certain places in the bible that calls upon us as believers to lay aside what we feel for what we need to know. There are times when we as Christians can lose our objectivity on our lives and be carried away by a flood of emotions.
And times like that; certainly is not the Lord’s will for us.
God didn’t give us emotions so we could be carried away as prisoners of what we feel. NO! God gave those emotions to spice life up, to make your live exciting and interesting. But we our feelings are in the place where our objectivity ought to be; then we will have problems. This theme is throughout the bible, it screams for attention and action in our lives. I want to give us some thoughts that will lay some footing for the next few times as we look in the bible on our need to be an objective Christian.
I. What is Objectivity?
Maybe this will make more sense to you; have you ever heard that you can be so close to the tress, that you can’t see the forest? What does that mean? It means you can lose your objectivity if you are so overwhelmed, so invested with emotions that you don’t which end is up, you don’t know if you coming or going. Much less what God requires out of you at this time. What does objectivity look like? What does it mean? Let’s look at some verses that we help us do just that. Turn to Jos.3; 1-4. God told Joshua to separate the people from the Ark of God will the space of about 2000 cubits. Now a cubit is 18 inches long; so 2000 18 inch cubits comes out to be about 3000 feet! That’s a long gap, almost ¾ of a mile? What was God doing here in their lives? God wanted them to keep the right distance so as too get the right perspective of what was going on. They were about to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land thereby completing forty years of waiting. This was an exciting moment in their lives. God separated them so they could remain as objective as possible.
God was making them set back and see the forest before them. Making them set back and see the mighty working of God. God was making it known that it wasn’t themselves that was causing the Jordan to separate, No. It was God doing it all, they had front row seats all they had to do was to take it in and remember what God had done for them. God was trying to build their objectivity up to the point that they could go in this new land, which by the way was full of enemies and trails, and conquer it because they would have had the assurance that their God could do anything because of what they had witnessed before.
Maybe the biggest problem in our lives isn’t what we face; but how we face it. The state and frame of mind that we meet our problems in; basically decides what will happen, even before it happens. Before we move on, what is God teaching here to the Jews? Stay objective, set back size it up, don’t be so close the situation that you can’t think. Remain Objective!
II. What are some areas where your objectivity is a must?
Maybe if it hasn’t sunk in yet, maybe now you will see why it is important to remain as objective as you can. I got to thinking that almost everywhere in the bible there are times when being objective might be the only means for survival.
When do you need to be most objective as you can?
A. In Pain. By the way we are going to cover these in detail later on but I just wanted to show exactly where you need your objectivity the most. Who in the bible was I the greatest pain? Job turn there. We all know what happened to Job; he lost everything he had and all this kids. If there is a greater pain that this then let me know. Job was in all this pain, and he didn’t know why, all he knew was that God loved him and that God was very good to him. he said to his wife, Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job couldn’t turn in his bible and say oh, that explains it. God is allowing the devil to try my faith. He couldn’t. All Job could do was to remain objective about this as he could.
B. In Persecution.
Pet. 1:6 -7 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Peter was trying to get these believers to remain objective about their sufferings. It wasn’t that God didn’t love or cared for them but that god had a greater purpose in mind which was deepening their faith in him. Peter went to say, 1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
When you are under the gun for your faith you must remain objective.
C. In prosperity.
Jer 22:21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
Israel could not handle prosperity. The more they prospered material the more they forgot God. There are some Christians that will never be rich, because they can’t handle prosperity. If they did win the lottery, they wouldn’t Give God a second look, they would be too busy spending their money and guarding the rest. So many Christians get the big head, their pride puffs up and before you know they in an effort to get more something tragic has happened. What’s the cure? When God does send prosperity your way, how should one take it?
Take it objectively. Remember that it is God’s to beginning with and what he gives, he can take away! Keep your objectivity about it.
D. In parenting.
Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
What strains the hearts of parents? Wondering if there kids up grow up and be right with God. There are times when parents feel that they aren’t making any headway with their kids at all. Some give up, throw in the rod and let the schools and day cares teach their kids. Parents just give up. They lose heart, they lose their objectivity and do dumb things with their kids lives. If there is something that just sucks the spirit and energy out of you it is parenting. I was talking to a friend that is a principle at a Christian school. We as outsiders don’t know half the strain that is placed upon parents and teachers that are trying to teach these kids the bible. Point is you as parents must keep your objectivity about you and your child. That might mean stop pretending or stop feeling sorry as a parent.
E. In prayer.
Who do you pray about in your prayers? Most Christians are selfish in their prayers, me, my family, my problems, my burdens, my work. Now, I’m not saying you should never pray for your concerns you should. But when that’s that only prayers that are being offered up something is wrong.
F. In proclaiming the Gospel.
Listen not everyone that gets saved will follow Christ. I wish they would, I hope they do, I pray that they do. But we must be objective in this area as well. Some just want the free ride to heaven. Some won’t follow the Lord in their lives, doesn’t mean that salvation doesn’t work, doesn’t mean that they aren’t necessarily lost either. A lot of churches lose their objectivity and stop going after the lost.
Closing:
These are just some of the areas that think that objectivity is a must or we will lose it. We will lose heart and throw in the towel and go back to living like the unsaved just because it is easier.
Your objectivity is something that you and the Holy Spirit must grow together. Remember the little story that I started with. I like that story because the little boy thought that his grandma could see the right thing that needed to be done all the time in any situation. You and I have someone grander than a grandma that knows what every situation needs just by his look. He sees how to fix lives, fixes marriages, fixes wayward kids; he sees how because he is the embodiment of objectivity; he’s your Saviour.