Someone once said “Perception is reality.” That’s so true for those who only want surface level living. For those who aren’t satisfied with outward appearances, digging deeper often unearths the type of finds that make headlines.

I saw a news article recently where a guy purchased some glass art plates at a garage sale for $45. As it turned out they once belonged to the famed artist Ansel Adams and were worth millions. Perception wasn’t reality in that case. The guy getting rid of “junk” was thrilled to get the $45 because he didn’t bother to find out the reality of what those pieces of glass were actually worth.

Perception. It’s a problem for all of us at times but especially those who are surface-level thinkers.  We all have built-in perception receptors. These are the proverbial boxes we put people into merely because of social conditioning and training. We make assumptions about them based on those boxes and it’s up to those people to overcome our assumptions if they want us to perceive them differently.

That’s why God’s Word says we’re to no longer see people through the eyes of our social conditioning or previous worldly training. 2 Cor. 15:16 admonishes: “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh.” This is both a perception and procedural issue. Perception in that we are to no longer simply see others based upon our neat and tidy boxes we’ve created for them. Procedural in that we are to step into the realm of faith, walk according to the Spirit’s leadership and see them the way God does – putting away our sense of self-importance that too often mars our vision, and to see deeper beneath the surface for the treasure buried within them.

Perceptions.  Don’t be fooled by them.  Stop. Think. Dig deeper. There’s a world of fantastic beauty waiting to be unearthed!

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