During a lively conversation with a colleague, he said, “You’re an idealist. You see the world as it ought to be.”
Not that I would disagree, but I don’t think he knows me well enough to completely understand my perspective. if I were truly an idealist, I would not be able to see the world as it is.
There are always three possibilities to consider:
The world as it is.
The world as it could be.
The world as it should be.
Let’s reframe the question: Do you see the world as half empty or half full? Is there another way, another perspective?
It’s in our human nature to want to apply labels to one another to help us understand and empathize with each other.
Idealists are considered dreamers; realists are considered pragmatic — and because we tend to think in extremes, we see each other as either one or the other.
But what if there were a third way of viewing the world? And what if you could begin to see the world in that way – to begin to change the way you work by faith – and have a positive impact through your work?
When we let God transform us into a new person by changing the way we think — when we begin to think differently — we begin to see the world differently. We see those around us, our role in God’s economy, and our purpose and calling as entrepreneurs they should be.
Again, we are reminded by the apostle Paul in Romans 12:
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (NLTse)
God’s desire for you is balanced in the way you think. He wants you to be an idealist, and he wants you to be a realist.
He wants you to see the world as Christ saw it: through the eyes of his humanity, with the heart of his Father, and with the new perspective of an adopted child who sees the world through the eyes of opportunity and possibility.