Perspective. How do we see ______? It almost doesn’t matter what we put in that blank, if our perspective is skewed or obscured, correct conclusions are difficult to make. That has been the case for me in regard to truth. 

I have seen truth, and therefore God, from a perspective that used the eyes of my flesh. I am not talking about seeing truth and God as if they stood in front of me, rather I’m talking about seeing them from a fleshly perspective, from a finite, mortal vantage point where the boastful pride of life raises one’s opinion beyond its gainful limits. What I saw when I looked at truth was a duality that caused a crisis in my faith: How can I have faith in something so divided?

Below are my thoughts as I processed through this mess in my mind. I invite you to wander with me. I know I am not the only one who has questioned the validity of faith, wondering if faith rests in something real or is it a creation of my own? How can I rectify what I experience in this life with all its sorrows, disease, and death with a belief that God is good? Is faith just a matter of choosing to see the good and ignoring the bad?

I began my journey in Deuteronomy 8 where God’s children were warned that pride can abscond with faith, that abundance of blessing can replace reliance on God, and I saw myself:

Pride, the great enemy of faith, grows in comfort, ease, and peace. The barrenness of the time spent in the wilderness is forgotten and arrogance commends the actions of my own hands. Though I speak in thankful tones, even in my prayers, I name the shadow that rises in my heart: hubris.