Our worldview is impacted by many factors, of which location and comfort are only two. I also don’t think we can answer definitively for which causes warped or clearer thinking. In the face of crisis, people can deny reality, give up attempts to overcome it, escape from it in all sorts of ways, bring all their meager resources to bear in fighting it, and/or trust God to bring them through it.

Sometimes when we’re stressed out, it’s hard to get perspective, so taking time out to relax and refocus can help us hear God more clearly. (Yay, Malibu!) On the other hand, sometimes we are so immersed in Sybaritic delights (translation: creature comforts) or fulfilling occupations that our attention wanders away from the things that matter more.

Keith and I were watching the famous Last Lecture — the words of a man who knew he had a super-limited time to live. Until that point, he hadn’t squandered his life, but dedicated it to meaningful pursuits. However, the stress of knowing death was imminent crystallized and prioritized his thoughts and prompted him to tell the world (and more importantly his children) his view of important life lessons.

The reality I see is that God calls me to pay attention, no matter what circumstance I find myself in, to his guidance. There’s a reason why Jewish people have made the shema their core verse to recite in prayer. It calls them back to focus, over and over again:

Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One