This edition of The Bottom Line features an excerpt from the Worldview handbook by Katherine Gallagher, based on the teachings of Dennis Peacocke.

Katherine Gallagher serves as the Executive Director of GoStrategic. She is a former small-business owner who works with several local non-profits as a consultant and advisor. She is also an author and has made numerous radio, podcast, and television appearances, having begun her speaking career in her teens with abstinence-based sex education in schools. With a passion for truth and a heart for people, she continues to speak on such topics as relationships, marriage, worldview, leadership, and personal growth from a core level. Katherine holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Azusa Pacific University and resides in Santa Rosa, California with her husband and two children. 

“Worldview and Relationship”

We are all on a worldview journey and begin under the influence of numerous factors, such as our family, culture, experiences, personality, and other circumstantial elements. Our worldview is built on our underlying presuppositions. Because these subconscious assumptions carry the most profound impact on our lives, they determine the degree of influence everything else has on us. Presuppositions are decisions of the heart. Worldview starts in the heart and then moves to the mind.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. —John 3:19-21

The essence of how we live and form opinions resides in our hearts, where our capacity to love and hate originates. Love and hate are heart words, not head words! A person’s worldview begins not at the level of intellect but at the level of the heart. The Bible speaks of our hearts as the throne of our affections and allegiances: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. —Proverbs 4:23

Our allegiances precede our thoughts and are substantially influenced by the “panel of experts” we’ve chosen to trust; these, often unconscious, presuppositional motivations directly guide our thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Our presuppositions and worldview determine our scope of reality—from how we analyze information to where we place our attention. No one is neutral in how they interpret data or present it to others. We can be distant from the information, but it’s impossible to be totally neutral to it. So, how do we determine what’s behind our own beliefs, the beliefs of others, and the issues in the world today? Any complex issue can be understood by tracing it back to the underlying beliefs about one, or any combination of, the three root presuppositions (axioms) regarding the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of truth. This simple tool will help you uncover the foundational beliefs underpinning every big question of life—from personal matters to politics and everything in between. Training ourselves to become aware of these root beliefs enables us to align our convictions more wholly with the truth of God, and it equips us to engage in meaningful conversations and effective evangelism with others.

While Jesus always had the right answers, He was not quick to shove His message onto others; rather, He asked questions and allowed people to process with Him. What an excellent model to follow as we consider how to engage in situations with people of various beliefs. Jesus never got into arguing matches; He asked challenging questions, used the truth of God’s Word, and did it all with a perfect balance of love. We’re reminded of this concept in John 13 when Jesus gave instructions to His disciples on how they should act after His return to the Father: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.—John 13:34-35

Truth and love must coexist as we share our worldview and testimony. Don’t fall into the trap of needing to prove your point or always having to be right. If you can’t do it with the Lord’s help in a loving way, then consider your circumstances and allow God’s wisdom to speak to your heart. Remember, the person you love and want to influence is loved by God infinitely more than you have the capacity to love yourself, and it is His will that no one should perish. And that, my friend, is…

THE BOTTOM LINE.

This month’s Bottom Line is excerpted from Chapter 2 of the book, Worldview: A Handbook for Biblical Thinking and Lifestyle, available for purchase below. View Book Sample | Free Bible App Plan

Audio/video lessons that correspond to the chapters, each 20-30 minutes long and ideal for use in small-group studies, are also available for immediate download via the links below. View Video Preview

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