Perception Is NOT Reality – Part I
“Hey man, my wife is driving me crazy. She doesn’t do anything to show me that she loves me.”
“Really? You honestly believe what you’re saying?”
“Perception is reality, man. That’s the way it looks to me. That’s the way it feels. I’m about to be outta’ here!”
One of the most common phrases I hear in our culture today is “Hey, perception is reality…that’s the way I see it, so that settles it!”
I don’t know who first coined the phrase, but they didn’t get it right. Perception is functional reality, but it’s not reality.
We act on what we perceive to be true. If I perceive that the fire on the floor below will kill me before the firemen arrive, I’ll jump out the window and take my chances. Reality might be that the firemen were twenty feet away in the stairwell at the time, but acting upon my perception of reality, I jumped to avoid burning to death. In reality, I died needlessly from the fall. The truth could have set me free. But instead, I died acting upon a perception of reality; not reality.
The facts are overwhelming that “perception is NOT always reality.” There have been all kinds of perceptions through the years… “The world is flat, you can sail over the edge”, “There’s no such things as germs”, “All germs are bad”…the list goes on and on. These were perceived to be reality at a point in time, but at another time, were found to be false.
So when you hear anyone say “perception is reality”, instantly put a check on it. Base your decisions on reality…on Truth, not the perception of a human being who is prone to swaying the truth toward what he believes or wants it to be.
Question: Are you dealing with a “reality” right now that may just be a perception and not Truth?
Breathe New Life Into Your Discipleship
Small group mentoring can help you engage your people, build your core group of leaders, and transform your church. Our free resources equip you with all the tools you need to launch a sustainable mentoring program.
Responses (3)
Wow Regi! That hits home. Too often I allow my view of things to affect my reality. Thanks for the great reminder to examine my outlook to see if it is perceived or truth.
Thanks for your comment, Joseph. We need each other to stay grounded in the TRUE reality of God’s amazing love, presence and destiny for our lives.
Regi thank you.. This phrase seems to be running rampant today. I have been struggling to find the right words to say when someone says this and you have helped tremendously