Oakwood Presbyterian Church

Select Sermons by Pastor Al Siegel

                               HOW DO YOU SEE IT NOW?               

   I believe that there are TWO TRUISMS that modern psychology has given us about life.  The First is this: WE SEE WHAT WE ARE PREPARED TO SEE.

   Wise is the parent and grandparents who teaches their child What To Look For In Life.  When Houdini, the great magician, was a small boy, his father trained him to see things other people fail to observe.  Whenever they passed a store window, his father would ask him to notice the things on display just for a few seconds.  After they walked on, Houdini was then asked to name the contents of the window.  At first he could remember ONLY a few items.  But with practice, he learned to notice the contents of a crowded display window as he walked by and to give an accurate description of them afterward.  He learned to Notice as well as To See.

   WE SEE WHAT WE ARE PREPARED TO SEE.  And of course, some people see ONLY the Negative.  One lady tells how, after years of persuasion, her mother was finally talked into having a cataract operation.  Returning home from the hospital, the mother sat down in front of the picture window, which looked out on a lake.

   “Do you notice any difference in the view, Mom?” the daughter asked.

   “I certainly do,” her mother replied.  “Don’t you ever dust?”

   We See ONLY What We Are PREPARED To See.  That is the First revelation of modern psychology.  The Second Revelation comes from that esteemed philosopher and theologian (past TV comedian), Flip Wilson: WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET.  In a perverse way, that is True.

   Job in the Old Testament said, “That which I feared has come to pass”.  Often that is no accident.  Studies have confirmed that persons who see themselves as Winners even in difficult times, usually Are.  Those who expect the future to be better than the past, are generally right.  Our health, our ability to relate to others, our future success depend on WHAT WE SEE.

   Now let’s look at our Text for the day.  This little book of Haggai was written to encourage the Jews to Rebuild the Temple which had been destroyed during the time of the Babylonian captivity.  The temple lay in ruins.  Haggai confronted the governor, the son of the high priest, and the remnant of Israel; and he asked them a question: “Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory?”  And then he asked, “How do you See It Now?”

   The nation of Israel had been scattered.  The holy temple had been reduced to rubble.  That was the past.  The question Haggai posed was Not about the Past, BUT about the Future.  How Do You See It Now?

   That is the question that I hope you will ask about YOUR LIFE, about YOUR WORLD, and about YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST as we live the days ahead.  “HOW DO YOU SEE IT NOW?”

   Today, every day, we need to Take Stock of Our Lives.  How are you approaching tomorrow, or next week, or months from now?  With Fear?  With Dread?  With Uncertainty?  I’m sure some of us are.  We have legitimate concerns about our health, our financial security, our children, (our jobs) even our relationship with those closest to us.  Yes, the question comes to us often, “HOW DO YOU SEE IT NOW?”

   How Do You See Yourself?  In counseling situations individuals will often make statements like: “I’m just hard to get along with,” OR “I’m a lazy person, so I just can’t get such-and-such done.”  The underlying message in these statements is that THIS is the way they are, and there is No Way for them to change.  As long as we believe we CAN NOT CHANGE, THE ODDS ARE AGAINST US.  However, Once we make up our minds that there is Hope, the Whole World Becomes Possible.

   There is a true story from the 1950s about a mother of a small child named Walter, who was told by her doctor, “Your son has infantile paralysis.  He will never walk again.”  Maybe that is what the doctor saw for Walter, but that was Not what his mother saw.  With determination, she massaged Walter’s legs, soaking them in hot compresses until finally he was able to walk and even run.  One day after watching boys compete in the high jump at a high school track meet, Walter said to himself, “I want to become the world champion high jumper.”  Absurd?  To the world, perhaps, but that is how Walter’s mother had helped him see himself.

   And one day in an indoor track meet Walter cleared the bar at six feet eleven and five eights inches, a New World Record.  The boy they thought would never walk became the world high jump champion.

   Most of us will Not see ourselves as world high jump champions.  Still it is important for us to ask ourselves WHAT WE DO SEE.  Do you see yourself as a victim, a misfit?  OR do you see yourself as a person of enormous potential?  How do you see yourself?

   IN THE SECOND PLACE, HOW DO YOU SEE THE WORLD?  William Muehl tells of visiting a fine old ancestral house in Virginia.  The aged owner was showing him through the home.  Over the fireplace he noticed an ancient rifle which intrigued him.  He asked if he might take it down and examine it.  She replied, “Oh, I’m afraid that wouldn’t be safe.  You see, it is all loaded and primed to fire.  My great-grandfather kept it there in constant readiness against the moment when he might strike a blow for the freedom of the colonies.” 

   Mr. Muehl said, “Then he died before the Revolution came?  “No,” she answered, “he lived to a ripe old age, but he never had confidence in George Washington.  You see, he knew Washington as a boy and didn’t believe he could ever lead an army!”

   How Do You See the World?  Do you have your musket loaded, primed and ready to fire because you Lack Faith in others?  Do you see the world as a hostile and cruel enemy?  Remember, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET.

   How do you see it NOW?  How do you see YOUR LIFE?  How do you see YOUR WORLD?

  One Thing More!  HOW DO YOU SEE GOD?  Here is the really important question for the day.  We are gathered here this afternoon to celebrate more than a Positive Mental Attitude.  It is not simply “faith in faith” that will make each of our days.  Haggai asks the people, “HOW DO YOU SEE IT NOW?” And then he makes his declaration of Faith: “TAKE COURAGE…SAYS THE LORD…FOR I AM WITH YOU…”

    That is the Best Good News we could receive today and every day.  God (Emmanuel) Is With Us.  With us as we worship; (With Us as we share a meal around this table); With Us as we live our lives socially and among our families.  God Is With Us 365 days of the year in all circumstances.

    May we each realize that, to a certain extent, WHAT WE SEE IS WHAT WE WILL GET.  How do you see Yourself?  Your World?  And Most Importantly, HOW DO YOU SEE GOD.  “Take courage…Says the Lord…for I AM WITH YOU…”

         Preached at Oakwood Avenue Presbyterian Church, Troy, NY

                                    By Rev. Alfred O. Siegel