One of the things that I discovered when I went to retrieve my kayak after abandoning it in the woods (see Operation Rescue) was the value of having a different perspective. When I walked along the river bank in search of my kayak, things looked quite different than when sitting in my boat. From 10 to 20 feet above the water I could see downstream and sometimes around the bend. I could see log jams that would have only been apparent as I rounded a bend and came up on them were I looking from my kayak. I could tell what direction the stream was flowing at any given point, but when you are down on the river it is difficult, if not impossible, to know exactly what direction you are going. From the river bank I could see big lazy loops in the river bed and realize that a quarter or half mile of paddling often brought me to a point that was only a few yards from where I was previously.
This really helped when I found my boat and began paddling downstream. Not only was I able to see the water up close and read the river as I paddled, but because I had been up on the bank I knew where potential problems were before I got to them. There was an island that produced a fork in the stream at one point. Because I saw it from up on the bank, I knew that one side had a log jam that would have been a royal pain to get around.
When I reached that point as I paddled, it appeared that the right fork was wider and deeper. It appeared to be the best way to go. But since I had already seen it from a different perspective, I knew that the smaller, shallower, left fork was the direction I should take. I paddled to the left and made it around the island with no problems.
Later, I was reading a book on kayaking (after the disaster of my first trip down the Big Muddy it seemed like a good idea to read up on what I was doing before I got myself killed). One of the points made in the book was that at times it is good to go ashore, climb up to a higher vantage point and get a different perspective on where you are, where you are going, and what is coming your way. If only I had done that before that first trip down the Big Muddy.
People tend to fall into one of two types. Some are "Big Picture" and some are "Little Picture." Big Picture people tend to have great ideas with lofty goals but hate to get bogged down with details. Unfortunately, their great ideas and lofty goals often don't amount to anything because they do not take care of those annoying but ultimately necessary details.
Little Picture people are focused on the task at hand. They tend to be perfectionists until every last detail is complete. Not only that, the task is not complete until it is perfect. Unfortunately, they often get so consumed with taking care of details that they lose sight of the ultimate goal and the minor details become an end to themselves.
The truth is, we need both kinds of people. Personally, I tend to be a big picture person who gets bored when a job is about 90% complete. If I don't surround myself with Little Picture people who take care of those details, it is difficult for me to finish the job and achieve my goals. I also have to force myself not to move on until those details are completed. That is hard for me.
Unfortunately, most of us are more comfortable with our own kind. I know one person who is the CEO of a large corporation and is a detail person. Every individual in the company has detailed goals that are very specific. Those who do not achieve those goals don't fare well when job evaluations come. Most of the people he has hired are also detail people. Because those specific, personal, goals are all that is evaluated, employees focus on producing numbers that lead to good job evaluations. But in reality, they just do a lot of busy work that doesn't result in the corporation as a whole accomplishing its purpose. In that particular corporation, the Little Picture is all that really matters, and it is failing.
I could easily mention other examples of Big Picture people who surround themselves with other Big Picture people with failure resulting from the fact that no one takes care of the details. The important thing is that we all need both perspectives. The same is true in your spiritual life. There are some people who are totally focused on their personal experience. If they feel the Holy Spirit is leading them to do something then that is it. They will do it. But sometimes they mistake emotion and personal feelings with being the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Other people reject experiential religion. They focus on God's Self-Revelation in the Bible. They avoid any hint of emotion or mysticism and pursue a cold, rational evaluation of Scripture for life. They miss out on the miraculous and the joy of an intimate relationship with the Lord and other believers.
The truth is that we need both perspectives. Experiential religion can lead to great things, so long as it is tempered by careful examination to see that it is obedient to Scripture. I'm tired of hearing people tell me they know God wants them to be happy, and the way to happiness is to divorce their spouse of x-many years and marry that really nice, good looking new person at work (by the way, if they are that "nice" what are they doing having an adulterous affair?). God does not lead you to sin! True happiness never comes from disobedience to God's Word. "If you love Me, keep My commandments (John 14.15)."
But a narrow religion that quenches the movement of the Holy Spirit tends to be dead and legalistic. It denies God the glory He deserves as it becomes an academic exercise instead of a joyful relationship with Him. People are not attracted to a god of the dead. We serve a Living God of living people. True obedience to His Word results in joy and celebration. "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory (1 Peter 1.8)."
Keep both perspectives as you paddle down the River of Life.
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