A story goes that a lady went into an auto parts store asking for a seven-ten cap. The employees all looked at each other and said, “What’s a seven-ten cap?” She replied, “You know, it’s right on the engine. Mine got lost somehow, and I need a new one.”
“What kind of a car is it on,” they asked. Perhaps it was an old Datsun 710, they thought. But the lady said that, no, it was a Buick.
”OK, lady, how big is it?” one fellow asked. She made a circle about 3 1/2 inches in diameter with her hands.
“What does it do?” they asked again. “I don’t know,” she answered, “but it’s always been there.”
One of the employees gave her a note pad and asked her if she can draw a picture of the said seven-ten cap. So she made a circle about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and in the center wrote “710”.
The guys behind the counter were looking at it upside down as she wrote the numbers… and they laughed so hard, they fell down.
One guy finally recovered and said, “I think you want an oil cap.”
The lady replied, “Seven-ten cap, oil cap, I don’t care what you call it. I just need one, and I don’t see what’s so funny about it.” (In case you still haven’t figured it out by now, the word “OIL” upside down looks like “710”!)
Perspective makes all the difference.
Things look differently when we look at them upside down. The world looks at material things and calls them “items of great value.” It looks at sin and immorality and calls them “good and right.” It looks at lies and calls them “truth.” It can be very confusing unless we realize the need to turn things around and look at them from an eternal perspective.
If things in your life “don’t look quite right,” perhaps you’ve been looking at things upside-down, and you need to allow God to help you to turn things around.
Maybe we’ve looked at the world and put our values on upside down mode.
When a pretty girl looks at the camera and points to a very good-looking guy seated beside her and says, “For me the way to help our environment and fix climate change is to take a shower together with him and conserve water.” She’s thinking he’s being funny, but it reveals the upside-down values she has.
“What happens in Boracay stays in Boracay.” Upside-down value. What happens in Boracay will forever stay in her soul and consciousness.
Price tags have been switched. Values have been turned upside down.
People who have stolen huge amounts of money are admired.
Men who have multiple affairs are seen as macho, while women do the same are liberated. When will they realize that values that are “liberated” simply imprison them to a lifetime of regrets and self-destruction?
Wrong perspective equals wrong worldview. Wrong worldview leads to wrong thoughts, and wrong thoughts to wrong actions. People have accused me of being too conservative and old-fashioned, but I actually take that as a compliment. Let me ask you this: Would you be willing to entrust all of your business interests to an accountant who has “liberated”, upside down values? I really do not think so.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That perspective is as good and as right as it can be.Trust me. It works.
(Attend this once in a lifetime seminar on “The Leadership Factor” featuring Dr. Harold Sala, Francis Kong and Jim Collins (video) on November 27 at the SMX Convention Center. Call Pam or Kriselle of Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115 for further details.)