The Christian Mind Series

The first fly said to the second fly, "Human beings are funny aren't they?" "Why do you say

that," responded the second fly?" "Well," said the first, "they spend a pile of money building a

beautiful ceiling, and then always walk on the floor." From a fly's eye point of view you have to

admit we make very little use of ceiling space. Flies and people look at things from a totally

different perspective. This is true of different people as well. We do not seen any aspect of life

from the same perspective as others do.

Take a football game for example. Physically the man in the blimp over the stadium; the man

on the sideline, the man up in the stands, and the man watching from television all see the game

from a different perspective. Emotionally men see the game differently depending upon which

team they are for, and which one is winning. Psychologically there are many perspectives among

the spectators. The father with a son in the game sees it differently than the brother who is forced

to watch the game and miss a date just because his brother is in it. The man with a bet on the

game sees it differently than the man who had never been to a game and is trying to figure out

what it is all about. Some are saying I am so glad I am up here in the stands, and others are

saying I wish I could get into the game. This gives us an idea of how the same event can be seen

from many different view points.

This should enable us to see that there is more than one perspective that can be legitimate and

logical, normal and right. You would not expect everyone in a game to feel the same about a

touchdown. You would understand perfectly when rooters for the other side did not join you in

rejoicing over the touchdown of your team. The very essence of common sense is to recognize

that there is more than one perspective. None are so blind as those who cannot see that there are

others who see what they do not. If you expect everyone to see life the same as you do, you will

have more mysteries on your hands than you can handle. You will be as mystifies as the fly who

can understand why people waste their ceiling space.

Durand, the Frenchman, was visiting London and he noticed names like Waterloo station, and

Trafalgar square. That is odd he thought and he said to his wife, "The English seem to have a

mania for naming places after defeats." What he was failing to realize was that though Waterloo

and Trafalgar were great defeats for the French, they were great victories for the English. His

being blind to any buy his own perspective made him wonder at a mystery that makes perfect

sense to those with a broader perspective. He thought the English were being strange, when the

fact is, he was being strange.

When we do not recognize other perspective, we become totally self-centered, and limited in

our grasp of reality. It is like saying that because I do not like onions, it means they are no good

for anybody. This is what happens to those with a narrow perspective. It happened to Mark

Twain when he visited the studio of Whistler. He started to touch a certain painting when

Whistler cried out, "Oh don't touch that. It isn't dry yet." "I don't mind," said Twain, "I have my

gloves on." They were on two different channels, and Mark Twain missed Whistler's point

altogether, for he say only the effect of touching the paint on his finger, while Whistler was

concerned with the effect on his painting. It is very rude not to see the perspective of another

person.

The point of all this in relation to Paul's practical teaching to the Romans is that Paul is

making it clear that if Christians want to know God's perfect will they have to add a new

perspective to their view of life. We must be aware of other perspectives which are representative

of the world mind, and make sure our minds do not run in the same channel. You body dedicated

is essential, but not enough if your mind is still conformed to the world perspective. It will not be

able to see God's good and acceptable and perfect will because it is under the control of patterns

established by the world.

In other words, it is possible to be a Christian, and still not see everything from a Christian

perspective because of a mind enslaved to other perspectives. Paul is saying that just as our

bodies must be yielded to God by an act of the will, so our minds must be renewed, and our