%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 22 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 18 0 R /GS4 19 0 R /GS5 20 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250904023158+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250904023158+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1753 >> stream xXMFHݤ7^c7lyơM PlL}>Oݗ45bcb`!^b:UW(C$Nt䥎Kw/OJAH WqϊBs $B'SNYw( oZzt oX C#X?}L7o{N'7c%6J5h$xč7lV8`8 q4?7z|X$1` f"R})[!g} ?v+q4 0Ig7%s| [|Q 7YgUKwB#}5ZOXm_=Kي;^Rs2FPSL$ R$oclkMȲ(7ȑ6Ƚ἖LJ_k\q݇a7oWWȵ~tp̋^FKGNYA-?K)~!$LQ$ }[JorMlGZ6:y]h_}7Au\ۼј䠴Lf.N\S׽W(P#[h[-ff0M[ l?P!e]ZWu> Or+TQZ}KZ|zfä&sSoQ?rw yzy:`3Vڵ6bG帐<JH+#fڋ6kwBU7p>wuApb˾δ-&,p(A?d0%f{^÷*UC]Thf68nZȮJHdެs}<7C/S`Ѝy҆A6ZOp yg`|\pZJ cxcR"1IU}e_.LHfX#e֏ %[^ . 唄wRhB1'ET㲲s%5 ='E5\,0%*l+lFai*q&Q^0=h@Q.*GL5UUC{3kf 6恭xgk87C`xY7nQL;Yb`#>Gĩlr2ƺK=ٲ7ɶ"x̔lkp8_Iʃ0 ,jvVBw(lSw}'LmC@Fy9Ծj=tƋqKyRVkTleX}(DWc96V4qRߖЁ%N<}LK 4ad N22;ȅRqkk4ĖG58\滑GH#"9e'](u"ߖ}'/x9q9YId9 kpUm+mPibK[8c|bsXKu|TTEl(T.޼V%4+X폝4=l)/7Ӂ碗llDU֕.%bVqߊ7Lj7YArMew77Lf߆\g?lh%lhH8H8K"OP,g &z]lL8Wލ³z?\ endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 17 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.67 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 21 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 23 0 R >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1428 >> stream xWMs6WloIDž)Rxcd 1" Qǿ -S.A(o[,.~icpM5bQ[o^.(MG,)JZEXlQ -ckekEoU]+mIvXt敽OnINb%ih/ԦŊc#:yoZ|7 )s!V wt@OB;S]+L >DY(gZN0ro}%G/j]!iq-xM \ 9T6"28T7G>oqY1}U)nx{WUǠjL'n_˪ƣxl#';PeZp!IL&POoյ@$8NNY G)T!R Е/%tg5+l$ӻo u:`j9Dz•r}r@|81h !+SVF!CsmzsO kV2vJp)3Lc`qbm*O729AvE}̫twO\'=> lkJ2#?,=_gY²yH'\?du:zsvj,,F/qmyx`AsŸz? `;^u}R2 ĆrvMlzL}* Д·z!8fG?V<ῄ0F1!ITJx] HڝFSB ~Z3x2DUZXd/q!wڷ^V3oMU몾Dv̵!ɥC-3\kv˷6#8vZlfWwF85 H9KP'^cK1ymDǝ#\6*t0lvg^\\TN;aJoVm7sqliHjK_6z oOf,:YL.#OF$" endstream endobj xref 0 24 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000413 00000 n 0000000442 00000 n 0000000591 00000 n 0000000694 00000 n 0000002520 00000 n 0000002627 00000 n 0000002739 00000 n 0000002848 00000 n 0000002958 00000 n 0000003074 00000 n 0000003103 00000 n 0000003213 00000 n 0000003270 00000 n 0000003327 00000 n 0000003356 00000 n 0000003416 00000 n 0000003475 00000 n 0000003534 00000 n 0000003563 00000 n 0000003668 00000 n trailer << /Size 24 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 5170 %%EOF The Body Builder | Caring Magazine
Read Caring Magazine Volume 29

Vol. #29

Hope in Action

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

The Body Builder

May 7, 1998
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

As Others See Us

Captain Terry Camsey


by Captain Terry Camsey – 

* “Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It wad from monie a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion.”
(Robert Burns– “To a Louse”)

We tend to see the world not as it is, but as we interpret it based on our own backgrounds, intelligence, experiences, etc. If I held up a glass which had water in it up to the halfway mark and asked you if it were half full or half empty, the optimists among you would say, “It’s half full!” The pessimists would say, “It’s half empty!”

Who is right? Both pessimist and optimist. The reality is that the glass is both half full and half empty. What does the future hold for that glass of water? The pessimist would say, “It’ll soon be empty!” The optimist would say, “We could fill it to the brim again!”

We could, of course, do either…let it empty completely, or keep filling it up. Depending on whether we consider ourselves optimists or pessimists.

Are our halls half empty or half full? What we see will determine our response!

As a church, however, the way others see us can also impact the effectiveness of the ministry we strive to carry out. Those who see us as a non-profit social agency will respond to us accordingly. Those who see us as a church responding to the poorest people in the community will also respond according to whether they see themselves as poor people. Interestingly, in a study of the inner-city poor which we (USA Western Territory) completed a few years ago with the Percept company, the poor we interviewed did not see themselves as poor, despite living below the poverty line. There is always someone worse off, isn’t there? It’s all to do with our perceptions! graph

There are those who take comfort in the “fact” that our uniform is well recognized by the general public. It may well be, but as representing what?

If we assume that they recognize wearers of it as Christians, we may be in for a shock. There is certainly nothing on the uniform to indicate that, unless–in the case of men wearing caps–the observer can pick out the cross on a very small badge. Even the assumption that: “The Salvation Army” says it all (assuming that caps and hats are worn, because that’s often the only place it states this) can be erroneous. Another survey among baby boomers revealed that one man thought “Salvation” meant “succor.”…that we came to the help of those in need–which we, together with many other agencies, Christian and otherwise–do.

Do people outside the Army see what we see? Do they see what we want them to see? Look at the sketch. The building represents the Army, the girl to the right represents a Salvationist. The boy represents people outside the movement. He sees into room A and we don’t. He sees things about us that we do not recognize in ourselves.

He also sees into room B, and so do we. We both see the same things about the Army.

The girl (representing we “insiders”) sees into room C, but the boy (outsiders) does not. Maybe this represents things we do not want outsiders to know about us. But look at room D…neither the boy nor the girl (insiders or outsiders) sees into that part of us…but God does!

Now, how could that metaphor be used to improve our understanding of the unsaved and their understanding of us as a unique kind of church? Think about it.

*”Wouldn’t it be great if God gave us the ability
To see ourselves as we are seen by others.
It would surely save us from making silly mistakes
And false assumptions.”

Wouldn’t it?

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like