Helped to see

I should wear my glasses regularly, but I rarely do. ‘Why?’, you may ask. I am living in denial. I really don’t want to accept that I need them, so I end up squinting around sometimes. I don’t think I’ll be getting away with this act of self-denial for much longer anyway, as the reality of my need is oh so undeniable, and I also recently received a reminder that I am due for an eye test.

As much as I seem to be coping alright without aid for my physical sight, there’s another pair of glasses I cannot refuse – a more hypothetical one. I wonder what you think of a pair of glasses permanently held to your face. I mean one that wouldn’t come off, not at your whim, not even when you desperately need to scratch that stroppy itch between your eyes.

Hard as it is to conjure up such frustrating dilemma, the reality is that we all go around with some imaginary pair of glasses, which I once heard fittingly termed as a worldview.

What’s a worldview?

It is that permanent ‘pair of glasses’ through which we see and interpret reality. It is an all-encompassing view of the world (i.e., reality) that plays itself out in our values, choices and commitments.

Since everyone invariably has a way of interpreting reality, it is safe to conclude that everyone has a worldview. Perhaps you don’t have a term (yet) to describe your particular framework, that doesn’t let you off the hook – you do have a worldview!

Whilst it is good to be aware of other worldviews around us, the Christian’s priority is to increasingly embrace a biblical worldview, which is the point of bringing the Bible into focus. In it, we learn what our faith really is about, and how foundational it is to how we live daily.

Non-biblical worldviews aren’t tucked away nicely in books sitting on dusty library shelves, waiting to be discovered. No, they are right in our faces, on social media, in pop culture, music, and everywhere else you can think of. This pervasiveness means we cannot be passive in acquiring the right worldview, i.e, one that rightly interprets reality.

The Christian faith isn’t an add-on to the many facets of our lives, rather, it becomes the lens through which we see all things. My prayer is that we may, in good conscience, be able to say with C.S. Lewis that:

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Do stay tuned for more on the concept of worldviews.

Thanks for reading!

Sike Osinuga.