One summer's day, a rooster scoured the barnyard looking for food. As he scratched at the straw on the ground, he uncovered a jewel.

The rooster suspected the jewel might be valuable because of the way it glittered in the sun. This object is probably worth a lot, the rooster thought to himself, but I'd trade a bushel of these shiny things for a single kernel of corn. -Aesop

Rich or poor, happy or sad, fulfilled or discontented, hopeful or hopeless... Whichever of the aforementioned we give in to will be based on the way we perceive the happenings in our lives.

Riches, for example, do not merely consist of physical money or other material possessions - as many think.

Many are rich in respect of the ways they think; others are rich in terms of their spiritual understanding. Perception, you see, often takes more root in a man's mind than the reality itself.

This is why we all ought to be careful what we think or assume or believe.

The Jewish leaders, at the time of Jesus, felt the Messiah had to come a certain way - in a mundane manner - and Lord it over all. He was thought of as one who would come and war with the Romans and  other nations and subject them to him.

What they did not know was that their thinking was quite different from God's, and their ways very unlike His.

Perspective - our outlook on life - is crucial to our proper appreciation of any and every happening in it. Without a proper picture of who God is and how He works in our lives, we may live in discontentedness - because we lack a proper understanding of how He orders our steps for the ultimate goal of returning to Him in glory.

Like the rooster in today's fable, we could miss the plot in life - because we look at the obvious - the here and now, and fail to perceive that which is beyond the sight of our physical eyes - that which can be envisioned solely through God's eye-opening gift of grace.

The rooster, you see, would have realised that instead of trading a bushel of precious jewels for a single kernel of corn, it could, rather, trade just one jewel for enough kernels of corn to sustain it for a long time. But it didn't! Why? It lacked the proper perspective! 

As we go about our lives, let us remember that perspective matters more than we care to acknowledge.

Some are far poorer than others - yet much happier! Some are much less talented yet much more productive, in godly terms, owing to their perspective!

How you see things shapes how you react to them. Let us learn to see the best of what life throws at us and to make the most of it. If God allows that thing to come your way, it is because through it, He can achieve great results - for His glory!

Are you perceiving your own life and the happenings in it the way God does? Are you living with a godly mindset?