Quotes About Perspective

Measured against eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye...

Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom said, "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest.

You only believe the part of the Bible you do.

God warns us to not get too attached to what's around us because it is temporary. We're told, "Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away."9

In contrast, the Bible says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."15 Patience comes from wisdom, and wisdom comes from hearing the perspective of others. Listening says, "I value your opinion, I care about our relationship, and you matter to me." The cliché is true: People don't care what we know until they know we care.

When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.

Gratitude asks, "Why me? Why do I get all that I have?" David modeled this kind of gratitude when he prayed, "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?"15 Years later, his son would write, "It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.

To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it. David prayed, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.

To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.

Envy asks, "Why them? Why do they get what I don't have?" Gratitude asks, "Why me? Why do I get all that I have?" David

Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be.

Many people are driven by materialism. Their desire to acquire becomes the whole goal of their lives. This drive to always want more is based on the misconceptions that having more will make me more happy, more important, and more secure, but all three ideas are untrue. Possessions only provide temporary happiness. Because things do not change, we eventually become bored with them and then want newer, bigger, better versions.

Gary wondered, 'If God intentionally made us all different, why should everyone be expected to love God in the same way?

it's easy to forget that the pursuit of happiness is not what life is about.

DAY 6 Thinking about My Purpose POINT TO PONDER: This world is not my home. VERSE TO REMEMBER: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 (NIV) QUESTION TO CONSIDER: How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?

Lasting change requires new ways of thinking. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change how you act, you must begin by changing the way you think. Your thoughts are the autopilot of your life.

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.

Si no sabes cómo ser feliz con lo que tienes, nunca serás feliz con más.

I'm always so glad, Sylvie murmured, that I don't have to take a turn at being other people.

It's the side of reason that I'm on," Teddy said. "It just so happens that that's where you're always to be found and my mother rarely.

What a good husband you are, Nancy said afterward, always taking your wife's side rather than your mother's. It's the side of reason I am on, Teddy said. It just so happens that that's where you're always to be found and my mother rarely.

They were both Filipino and laughed no matter what you said. Were the Philippines really such a happy place or were the carers just happy not to be there?

Once, the eye of God watched people, now it was the camera lens.

Teddy thought of his wife and his sister as two sides of the same shining coin. Nancy was an idealist, Ursula a realist; Nancy an optimist with a lively heart, while Ursula's spirit was freighted with the grief of history. Ursula was forever cast out of Eden and making the best of it while Nancy, cheerful and undaunted, was sure her search for the gate back into the garden would be successful.