Imagine the current global population of almost seven billion people arranged in one massive single-file line.  Picture yourself in the line.  Regardless of how you rank in the American economic scale, you will be near the front of the line simply because you live in the United States.

Up the line are the people who have more than you.  At the front you find people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and other mega-billionaires.  At the back of the line might be a 2-year-old-orphan girl from Sudan with a distended belly, taking her last breath due to extreme starvation.  There are millions like her at the back of the line.

Here is the question: What is your outlook from your position in the line?  Are you spending most of your energy looking up the line at those who have more than you?  Are you investing energy looking down that line at those less fortunate?  Is your approach working for you?  How does it affect the way you live every day? 

All of us have some very important options in our outlook from where we stand in the line.

LOOKING UP THE LINE?

It is customary for high-achieving Americans to spend most of our energy looking up the line.  We are ambitious people.  We are also bombarded by advertising and television shows that seek to convince us that the key to real happiness and significance is somewhere up the line.

If we spend most of our time looking up the line, comparing our situation with those who are more “rich and famous”, we typically reap the internal fruit of ingratitude, discontent, greed, and even idolatry.

LOOKING DOWN THE LINE?

Most of the world is down the line…VERY far down the line.  Unless you have traveled to some of the poverty-stricken nations, observed the masses of broken lives, and been touched by the sights and smells of human devastation, it can be hard to even imagine life for those billions who live “down the line” from you.  It is not so hard to imagine friends and family who are not so far down the line, but who need help and encouragement from us.

If we do our best to focus down the line, cultivating a greater awareness of the deep spiritual, social, and materials needs of others, we usually become more grateful, humble, compassionate, and sacrificial in how we think and live.

LOOKING BELOW THE LINE?

It is also important to look below the line in both directions.  Deeper than the surface appearances of wealth or poverty we often discover the real “happiness” factor of daily life.  This “below the line” happiness has much to do with an authentic walk with Christ, quality relationships, gratitude for the simple gifts of life, and a willingness to choose joy in all circumstances.  Both experience and the Bible tell us that moving up the line does not guarantee greater satisfaction.  In fact, we usually find just the opposite can be true.

Jesus stated that a man’s life does not consist of the things he possesses (Luke 12:15). Paul warns that a love for money is a root of all kinds of evil that can pierce our soul (1 Timothy 6:9-10). The Bible consistently honors the poor, not as an endorsement of poverty or laziness, but as recognition of the humble and gracious heart that is often exhibited by the less fortunate, even in tough circumstances.

Obviously, God blesses some people to move up the line so that they can use those blessings as stewards to advance His kingdom.  Others are “driven” up the line by an ambition that eventually backfires and robs them of true well-being.

LOOKING ABOVE THE LINE?

Probably the most important look is the upward look.  Above the line of humanity is a good, sovereign, and just God.  He knows where we are on the line.  His providence allows us to be there.  He knows the beginning from the end and our times are in His hands (Psalm 31:15).  He will guide us as we move up or down the line. 

Keeping our eyes focused on Him in humble trust and active faith is one of the keys to a healthy outlook.  In obedience to His Word we should work hard, be aware of open doors, be generous stewards, diligently serve others, and let Him guide our steps as we live on the line.

IS YOUR OUTLOOK WORKING?

As you live on the line of humanity, recognize the choices you have in your outlook. Choose the approach that works and cultivates a good and godly growth in your life.   As I often say, “The hardest thing about the Christian life is that it is so daily.”  Every day we must ask God for the grace to choose the best perspective, and then trust Him as we seek to live faithfully and fruitfully on the line – and for the sake of eternity.

Each one of us on the human journey has struggled with some degree of unpleasant and tormenting emotion.  Maybe you are in the middle of a storm that has you reeling to find true north in your feelings and thoughts.  Many of the great people in the Bible can relate.  So can I.

Recently I was struck by the emotional battle but positive breakthrough described in Psalm 22.  We know it as a “Messianic Psalm” because it echoes the very words and experiences of Jesus during the darkest moment in human history.  He hung on the cross in agony and utter rejection, bearing the full weight of His Father’s wrath against our sin.  He cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Yet, the Psalm was also written as an expression of the real-life distresses of David.  We read of his genuine battle to keep faith and embrace hope while grappling with deep anguish and pain.  The focus of the Psalm bounces back and forth from descriptions of David’s misery to declarations of God’s character and ways.  This is clear when you see him interrupting his emotional struggle with the repeated declaration of faith, “Yet You, God, are…” (vv. 3, 9 & 19).  His emotions swing repeatedly from his real feelings of pain to his faith in his God. 

OUR STRUGGLE THROUGH FEELINGS TO EMBRACE FAITH

In so many ways, this is a picture of our own struggle to survive and endure the trials of our lives.  The battle is not just daily – it is moment by moment.  Observe this basic outline of the Psalm that I composed as I have meditated on it in recent days:

·        FEELINGS: The agony of feeling utterly forsaken – vv. 1-2

·        FAITH: The truth of God as the holy, reigning God in whom his fathers trusted – vv. 3-5

·        FEELINGS: The pain of repeated rejection and ridicule – vv. 6-8

·        FAITH: The truth of God’s care and presence in his life since birth – vv. 9-11

·        FEELINGS: The torment of being threatened and attacked by evil – vv. 12-18

·        FAITH: The truth of God’s present help and deliverance – vv. 19-21

A BREAKTHROUGH IN PERSPECTIVE

It seems that a breakthrough occurs between vv. 21 & 22.  The remainder of the Psalm reflects a restoration of perspective and hope.  Here is how it unfolds:

·        LOOKING OUTWARD: Enlisting others to praise the Lord for His saving help – vv. 22-24

·        LOOKING UPWARD: Receiving grace for continued praise, obedience, and satisfaction from God – vv. 25-26

·        LOOKING FORWARD: Declaring God’s ultimate victory and the eternal worship of His glorious name – vv. 27-31

Of course, if we go back to the Messianic relevance of the Psalm, we know it is only through the suffering and finished work of Christ in death and resurrection that we can have such a powerful perspective of victory and hope as seen in vv. 22-31.  Praise God for the indescribable gift of Christ and His salvation.

OUR CHOICES TODAY

All of this brings us to the fact of human suffering and the basic set of choices we face every day.  Pain, disappointment, fear, and trouble are inevitable in this life.  A breakthrough of perspective is optional.

I have learned – and have to re-learn every day – that in the midst of trials I must make a choice: 

1.      Will I believe what I feel, trusting my emotions in the midst of the storm?

2.      Will I believe what I see, settling for the temporal problems that surround me?

3.      Will I believe what I know to be true about God, keeping my eyes on the eternal reality of who He is and what He will  accomplish?

Today, your life may be painful – but God is still holy and faithful.  Things may seem out of control – but God is sovereign and wise.  The situation you face may feel very unfair – but God is just and righteous in all His ways.  Things may appear to be very bad – but God is good and compassionate.  You may feel all alone – but God is ever-present and able to comfort your heart.  The horizon may seem dark and hopeless – but God is glorious and victorious.

Our emotions are very real, and sometimes troubling. Yet, as David demonstrated in this Psalm, we must keep subjecting what we feel to what we know to be true in order to experience a positive breakthrough in perspective.  Jesus also understands our pain and agony.  He went from the cruelty of a cross to the darkness of a grave to the glories of Heaven.  He lives today, making intercession for us and sympathizing with our weaknesses.  He can give us grace to manage our emotions and live in dynamic faith today.  Yes, it is a battle – but it is a battle that has been won, and can be won, through Christ.