Lynn Jones: A search for perspective

By Lynn Jones

Each year, new players are  inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York and into the National Football League Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Both halls of fame share a common rule. The rule is that a player must be retired at least five years before he can be considered for induction into the hall of fame..

Now, what’s going on here? Why don’t they just vote on a guy as soon as his career is over? Well, experience has shown that some time ought to be allowed to pass before evaluating a player’s career. Sometimes in the publicity and emotion that attend a player’s retirement it is hard to evaluate the player and his career. Is this one of greatest players of all time or not? The passage of time offers greater perspective on the careers of these players before a decision is reached.

I have noticed that the same principle is often seen in the selection of the Nobel Prize winners each year. Often the prize winners are recognized for pioneering breakthroughs that they made in their fields years before. It is only now from the perspective of time that the true impact of their discoveries can be seen.

 Seeing things in their correct perspective is always a challenge. We are always struggling for perspective. We tend to overreact to things. If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot. It’s been noted that there is nothing so small that it can’t be blown out of proportion. Are you guilty of making mountains out of molehills in your life? If we can learn anything from hall of fame votes and the awarding of Nobel Prizes, it is that you ought to give yourself a little time before arriving at final conclusions about the importance of a matter.

This is also an issue in our faith. Jesus told the religious leaders of His day that they had completely lost their perspective. He said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel” (Matt. 23:23-24). Jesus said that if a person has faith the size of a mustard seed, he can move mountains. Never discount the power of even a small and imperfect faith.

Of course that was not just their problem. It is also our problem. We often concentrate on things of little importance and do not see big, important things—things like love, justice, and God. Pray today for perspective. May we devote our lives to things of greatest importance!

Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.