Perception is {NOT} Reality

Chances are you have heard the sophism “Perception is reality.” Such foolish pseudo-axioms sound profound when they are spoken, but even the simplest examination of the statement gives light to its silliness.

The deeper danger of quick and unexamined acceptance of the assertion that perception is reality is that it gives rise to the the flawed worldview that says, “That may be true for you, but it is not true for me.” My perception differs from your perception.

I’ll grant that there are times and situations wherein one can say such a thing. “My car tire is flat.” Well, that may be true for you, but all of my tires are fully inflated and are holding their air pressure. It may be true for you, but it is not true for me.

We both know that’s not the type of “truth” the sophist is addressing when he or she asserts that perception is reality.

Perception is the manner in which we see and understand our environment, and that perception does not always align with objective reality. Three witnesses standing on three of the four corners of an intersection will see the crash at that intersection from three different perspectives and may well report to the investigating officer three vastly different versions of what happened. The fourth witness hanging out a hotel window has a wholly different story than the three on the ground.

Our perceptions undoubtedly influence, if not drive, our ideologies, our faith, our dogmas, but it is critical for us to understand and acknowledge that our perceptions are built on a foundation of biases and experiences that leave us with a subjective definition of reality at best.

Perceptions in Scripture

Kings

In 1 Samuel, King Saul had fallen into disfavor with God, so God instructed the prophet Samuel to go to the home of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, to anoint a new king to take Saul’s place. Samuel was exceedingly reluctant to go, but did finally obey.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
– 1 Samuel 16:6-7, ESV

The Perception:

Samuel saw Eliab, and he just looked like a king. He’s tall. He’s handsome. He has a stately appearance about him. Samuel’s perception was that the search for a new king was over.

The Reality:

God was quick to correct Samuel’s error in judgment. Jesse had each of his sons pass by Samuel, one by one, and one by one Samuel had to say, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one,” until all the sons were accounted for . . . but one. The youngest. The one out doing the job no one else was willing to do—keeping the sheep.

Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.
– 1 Samuel 16:11-13a, ESV

The Takeaway:

What we see with our eyes and hear with our ears is so often misleading. Pay no heed to the outward appearance, whether it be the suit or the leathers, the perfected perm or the wild hair, the elite bronze skin or the tattoos. Look at the heart. The Lord looks at the heart.

Safety

In 2 Kings we read of war between Syria and Israel. The aggressive king of Syria would make plans and establish secret encampments, but the prophet Elisha consistently warned the king of Israel where the Syrians would be so he could always avoid them.

Naturally, this was infuriating to the king of Syria. His servants advised him that none of his people had betrayed him, but that Israel had a prophet who told his king the very words the Syrian king spoke in his bed chamber.¹

And [the king of Syria] said, “Go and see where [the prophet] is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

– 2 Kings 6:13-15, ESV

The Perception:

The servant’s heart melted in his chest when he saw the city surrounded by Syrian horses and chariots. Without a doubt, he believed he and Elisha were dead men.

The Reality:

[Elisha] said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
– 2 Kings 6:16-18, ESV

With “certain death” pressing down upon them, Elisha, untroubled, prayed for the servant’s eyes to be opened. The hills were carpeted with angel armies, horses and chariots of fire. The army of heaven far exceeded the army of Syria.

As this event unfolded, the Syrians were captured, but rather than slaughter them, God commanded that they be given bread and water and returned to their homeland.²

The Takeaway:

We are so tied to the tangible. Our heads know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,³ but our hearts fear perception rather than trust reality.

Failure

Imagine being one of the band of disciples. You’re expecting the kingdom to be established, the Messiah to reign over Israel, and the occupying forces of Rome to be driven out. Instead, your leader is captured, refuses to fight back, and is put to death in a brutal public execution.

The Perception:

Our expected king is dead, and now our lives are in danger. Everything we have planned, everything we have invested for the last three years is lost, and now working against us.

The Reality:

The death of Jesus on the cross was not a failure, but the ultimate victory. It is from that cross that Jesus cried out “τετέλεσται!” It…is…finished! What seemed like defeat, was a defeat, but not our defeat. It was the defeat of sin, and of death itself.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
– 1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV

The Perception:

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
– Luke 1:1-7, ESV

Living life by our physical and emotional senses carries the risk of blinding us to realities around and among us. Like the Bereans,⁴ we must examine the scriptures daily to see if what we think, feel, and perceive is true. Our emotional state often filters out the most important information in the room.

A Final Encouraging Word

For it is written,

    “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
        and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

– 1 Corinthians 1:19-25, ESV

1. 2 Kings 6:12
2. 2 Kings 6:22-23
3. Ephesians 6;12
4. Acts 17:11