Happy Tuesday, friends. I’m writing from The Woodlands, Texas, where the weather stays pleasant until the afternoon sets it ablaze. Fall is approaching, and the Rush crew is packing up for Elkhart, TX. It’s another move, a new chapter with its own set of optics and stories.
“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” - Aldous Huxley
Today is part three of our series on Surrender. Previously, we tackled surrendering outcomes and opinions. But today, let’s look at the idea of surrendering optics: the world’s perception, the curated image, the narrative we wish to control.
What Are Optics, Really?
Optics isn’t just physics. It’s about how light bends, how we see, and how reality can be shaped by what others choose to see. The word itself originates from the Greek word ὀπτική, which means “appearance; look.” Through centuries and languages, it has finally made its way into modern conversations about image and reputation.
C.S. Lewis said, “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
Sometimes, surrender means letting people stand wherever they will, letting go of how you’re seen, and trusting God to handle the rest.
When Perception Hurts
I’m intimately familiar with optics. On a recent call, a therapist observed, “Ben, your core fear is being misunderstood.” That landed hard, not because it wasn’t true, but because it was so true I couldn’t even see it.
I am an INTJ, Enneagram 1, with perfectionist tendencies, a brain tuned for post-mortem analysis before the dust even settles. My strengths (achiever, input, strategy…) all orbit the gravitational pull of wanting to be seen accurately.
Richard Avedon, legendary photographer, once said: “All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.”
My inner critic can compile mental slideshows of failures, but those snapshots can never tell the whole story. Perfectionism isn’t a fruit of the Spirit; it’s just an exhausting attempt to rewrite appearances.
Sometimes we’re desperate for affirmation. Sometimes we want to dodge suspicion. Either way, both are cracks in the foundation.
Losing the Narrative
It’s painful when you can’t shape the narrative, when you’re left in silence, or have to protect someone by biting your tongue, or exit stage left while others fill the script with their assumptions. Maybe you leave with grace, or maybe you’re forced out.
Roberto Bolano reminds us: “People see what they want to see and what people want to see isn’t always the truth.”
The last word isn’t always yours. Sometimes, your departure is the scene everyone gossips about, and the optics suggest you failed or bailed. And sometimes, that’s not even close to the real story.
Think of Barnabas and Paul, the New Testament power team. In Acts 15, they split over John Mark. Who was right? Who was wrong? The text doesn’t satisfy our curiosity. The separation creates a gap, and we’re left to fill in the blanks.
A Surrendered Perspective
Scripture presses us to use spiritual eyes, not just the lens handed to us by culture:
“Wise as serpents, gentle as doves.” (Matt. 10v16)
“The eye is the lamp to your body.” (Matt. 6v22)
“God looks at the heart, not the optics.” (1 Sam. 16v7)
“Pray in secret…” (Matt. 6v6)
“Clean the inside of the cup, then the outside will be clean..” (Matt. 23v26)
Growth is found in learning, not avoiding mistakes. The point isn’t to win the optics game, but to be faithful. Critics will criticize. Friends may misunderstand. Show up anyway.
The Substance Beneath the Surface
If God speaks through a donkey, includes Rahab the prostitute in Messiah’s lineage, and calls Moses, a murderer, to lead, then God can use you. God works with real stories, not press releases.
All around, there are people with perfect optics, polished lives, impressive resumes, whose fruit is hollow. Others struggle visibly, yet exude joy, peace, patience, and kindness. Sanctification hurts, but real fruit blooms in real suffering.
Stop chasing the highlight reel. Surrender your image. If your heart and conscience is clear, there’s nothing to hide.
Real hope grows where control dies.
If this resonated, pass it on. Hit “subscribe” to keep walking this road. Or reply with your own battles with perception. Let's be people who value substance over show.
Remember: the truth runs deeper than any photograph, storyline, or viral opinion. Let’s step through the doors of perception and into the freedom that comes when we surrender the optics.
Felt accurately seen by this description (except I’m more of an ENTJ):
“ I am an INTJ, Enneagram 1, with perfectionist tendencies, a brain tuned for post-mortem analysis before the dust even settles. My strengths (achiever, input, strategy…) all orbit the gravitational pull of wanting to be seen accurately.”