Living and Growing: What’s coloring your view?
Published 10:30 pm Friday, August 22, 2025
I’ve noticed something about life lately. It started when I got a new pair of glasses. I hadn’t realized how much the colors had faded or how blurred my view of our beautiful surroundings had become. Suddenly, I could see the deep hues of the trees and the vibrant variations of the flowers in full bloom. Juneau hadn’t changed — but my vision had.
That small moment taught me something much deeper about life. How often do we allow the events of our lives to color our perspective of the truth, when instead we should allow the truth to color our perspective of the events?
We see this all the time. People often rush to interpret situations through their own perspective, without stopping to check what is true.
History gives us a striking example. After World War I, two prominent Christian leaders — who once shared the same belief that God’s people would bring His Kingdom to earth in amazing ways — came to very different conclusions. One let the devastation of the war reshape his understanding of God’s Word. The other let God’s Word shape how he understood the devastation. Both faced the same world events, but what colored their view made all the difference.
That raises an important question: What’s coloring my view of life’s events? Sometimes events can help clarify truth (for example, the truth that we’re not the center of the universe). But more often, it’s the truth that needs to color how we interpret events.
My new glasses reminded me of that. The world around me hadn’t changed — only my vision had. In the same way, when people act in difficult or confusing ways, I can let my perspective alone guide my response, or I can pause, seek the truth, and let God’s Word color my response. That’s not easy, but it is necessary. After all, the real question in life isn’t simply what you see, but what’s coloring the way you see it.
Fred LaPlante serves the Juneau community as the pastor of the Juneau Church of the Nazarene. He is passionate about encouraging others to see life more clearly through faith in God’s Word.
