Psychology. A necessary evil as far as college is concerned. Almost everyone has to take a psych class. I hated it. In seminary I took more psychology classes without complaint because I saw the need in the ministry. (They were required then, too, but I didn’t mind taking the classes in seminary.) But that first year psychology class in Chattanooga, Tennessee. What a grind. Third floor of a grungy old building. The whole floor was an auditorium. In May, Chattanooga is really hot and really muggy and always rainy. Big room, maybe three hundred students, none of whom really wanted to be there. No A/C, just open windows. The professor droning on and on about perception. Oh, for heaven’s sake!

         Then, a woman’s scream sounded out in the hall. The door in the back of the room flew open and a woman ran in screaming. “HELP ME! HELP ME!” She ran from the back of the room to the front, really moving. Just a few feet behind her came a man, obviously trying to grab her. A few of us stood up, but we got no further. Too startled to move or give chase. The woman raced out the door in the front of the room, still screaming. The man was right on her heals. In an instant they were gone.

         The room was stunned. No one was speaking. Everyone was shocked. Calmly, the professor held a handful of papers up.

         “Ladies and gentlemen, I have in my hands a test. You are going to answer questions about what you just witnessed.” None of us understood at first. He began to pass the tests out. Finally, one of the ladies, tears streaming down her face, said in a voice bordering on hysteria, “Was that a fake? A set up?” The professor smiled and said, “Yes, Miss Nance. There was no chase and no threat.” My mind was still working, my heart still pounding. I could not process what he was saying. Women were crying, men were looking bewildered. The professor got to my row and looked at me. “Mr. Wade, sit down. You cannot take this test standing.” I sat and took a test.

         The test had questions like what color the girl’s hair was and what kind of shoes she wore. Was the man wearing a pull over or a button up shirt? Jeans or slacks? Were they tall or short? Was the man making any noise? Did he have a weapon? Did you know them? The questions were all about our perceptions. Not many questions, but exactly the questions that police would ask if they were there investigating.

When everyone was finished the professor had the man and the woman come back into the room. Everyone had said they didn’t know the couple, but they were from our class and they were well known on campus. About half the class had said he had a weapon, but he did not. Some had said a knife, some a gun, others a club. No one got the clothing right, but some got the hair color. That was the way it went.

The point was, of course, that perceptions change with the individual. We perceive in a predetermined way based largely on our mindset.

I have shared this before, but it is appropriate here, too. Years ago when I was an assistant pastor in a church in Hialeah (right next to Miami), Florida, I was having a conversation with one of the church ladies. We will say her name was Jackie (which it was). She was complaining about the pastor. “Brother Larry, I am telling you, that man is as dry as toast. I don’t know how that man ever got a job as a preacher.” I didn’t know what to say. I was quite young and to hear a Christian rip on her pastor was stunning to me. So, I didn’t say anything. About a week later I was in conversation with her husband. We will say his name was Colin (which it was). “Brother Wade, I have to say, I love to hear Dr. Wilkes preach! His messages are so deep and meaningful! You know, Jackie and I were on the committee that brought him here, and I have thanked God every day the He let me be there!” Again, I said nothing. This time out of a different kind of shock. Two people sitting together in church, going home together after church and then, one would assume, talking together every day, yet they perceived the exact same thing totally different. How is that possible?

Our perceptions are based on what is within us. Jackie and Colin had invited Marsha and I over for dinner one afternoon during the week. Jackie called Marsha and asked if we could come over a little early. She wanted to show us something before Colin got home. We got there and she let us in. She and Colin had three full sized poodles. These dogs were blind. I don’t recall the story as to why they had three blind full sized poodles, but they did. Jackie had the dogs in another room and when they heard us they began to bark and go crazy in the manner of all poodles.

“Watch this!” Jackie said in a laughing way. She opened the door to the room where the poodles were and they raced into the room. They started slamming into the furniture, hard, and they quit barking. Jackie was laughing so hard she was shaking. Marsha and I were alarmed. The dogs were now walking slowly around the room, checking where the furniture was. Jackie explained that the dogs memorized where the furniture was and then they could move around like normal. They were actually memorizing as we watched. She told us, still having trouble talking because she was still laughing, that she had put the dogs up several hours before and had then moved the furniture around. She had known that when we came over the dogs would have been really excited (they were poodles, after all) and they would run out of the room and, because the furniture was moved around, they would crash into the furniture. She didn’t understand why Colin got mad when she did that.  

Yes, that was cold and heartless. But it illustrates why her perceptions were so messed up and why she and Colin viewed the pastor so differently. My perception of Dr. Wilkes was somewhere between the two of them and Marsha’s was different from mine. Perception is an interesting thing.

Which brings us to our perceptions today. Some look at this whole pandemic thing as a dark, dark time. Others see it as a time when they rediscovered something that had felt as though they had lost. Some look at church as though it is some burden they have to bear. Others see it as a time of joy and peace. Some look at their relationships as though they are struggles. Others see their relationships as precious jewels. The perceptions of our minds are based on what is in our hearts.

How does God perceive our perceptions? And, how can we change our perceptions to be more honoring to God? The answer is right there. God. It is all about God. Seeking to please Him. Letting ourselves be His handiwork rather than seeing things through our own filter. Walking with the Lord is a wonderful thing. And it shows in how we see things.

       Blessings.