Rodent Regatta

Perception isn’t reality. Lots of people think otherwise. Psychologists and communicators attempt to convince us that perception is reality, but it isn’t. Let me explain. Imagine tomorrow morning. Imagine a beautiful April day. You wake up and you step outside. It’s a glorious day. You remark to someone standing nearby, ”What an incredible day this is. Isn’t that the most beautiful yellow sky you’ve ever seen?”

It’s a spring day and the sky is a vivid blue. It isn’t yellow. No matter how badly your perception is fouled, the sky remains blue. Just because you see yellow, it’s not a fact that the sky has suddenly gone from being blue to being yellow. Yeah, I know. Your reality is now different. You see yellow. Fine, but have the laws of physics that make the sky appear blue changed? Has only your perceiving apparatus gone astray or are you now prepared to argue that all of physics can be called into question?

This phenomenon (of fouled perception – not yellow skies) bites people in all walks of life. It is particularly common in today’s world where so many are taught to be victims. If they don’t like your perception, they whine about it until you cave in. One particularly ominous attribute of those who play this game is duplicity.

When they want to feel a certain way, you or something you said or did is often the cause. However, when you feel a certain way, it is your perception that is fouled. They didn’t say or do anything to do harm or sow confusion or bring about dissension, and they will argue until they are purple if confronted about it. The masters of this emotional approach to everything can literally tie an individual or an organization in knots.

Spiced with a few politically correct, multi-cultural, diversity buzzwords, this perception vs. reality loop can go on endlessly. The cost in time is huge. The cost in dollars is outrageous. The saddest part of all – the cost in human terms. Allowing one of these perpetual victims to whine, moan and disrupt can take a toll that wrecks the very soul of even the most confident people. Those who empower and foster this sort of tripe do one of the most serious disservices to all with whom they come in contact.

Personal responsibility extends to every aspect of life. From the choices we make to the words we speak to the motives in our hearts, we have a responsibility to treat others fairly and with kindness. Those who practice victimhood, then hide behind the perception vs. reality trick are guilty of one of the lowest forms of deceit. They see strong leaders as tyrants. They see specific requirements as too detailed. They see anything that closes off their path to victimization as an afront to their personal definition of right and wrong. Remember, their personal definition may or may not be accurate. Standards are for everyone else, but not for the victim.

Trying to convince one of these people how wrong-headed their approach is will only frustrate you. So many of their excuses for why they are that way lead back to a decision they must make: Will I continue to blame someone or something else for all that I am and do or will I accept complete responsibility for myself, my choices, my actions and my impact on others from this day forward? Lawyers who define ”truth” as ”whatever we can get a jury to believe” are guilty of blaming ”the system” or a whole host of other causes for their dishonesty.

There are two sets of scripture that describe the direction these people must decide to pursue. Here they are in two different translations:

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40: 27-31 KJV

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, ”GOD has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? GOD doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon GOD get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. Isaiah 40:27-31 The Message

Clearly, eagles are not victims. Nothing in their makeup calls them to victimhood. We’re called to be eagles.

Here’s the second crystal clear message about how we’re to treat one another:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:29-32 KJV

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32 The Message

• * * UPDATE * * * There’s an update to this entry here.