A Pixelated View Isn’t the Whole Picture
Life's pixels only have meaning when seen in the bigger context.
A photo is made up of tiny units called pixels (which is short for "picture elements"). Each pixel is a small square of color that, when viewed together with thousands or millions of other pixels, forms the entire image.
I’m a graphic designer, and I often have to do some photo edits that involve zooming in to the pixel level to fix something. At that view, it’s just a colored square. But it helps me get rid of a fuzzy edge on something or adjust a color that’s throwing it off.
Zooming in on the flower produces this:
When I zoom in on that one pixel, I can’t see the rest of the image. And without seeing the whole image, I can’t tell if the pixel adjustment was effective. Inevitably, there is more than one issue to address to make the whole picture better.
What Would Happen if I Focused on One Pixel?
Imagine if each pixel represents an issue in society—whether it's poverty, education, healthcare, or social justice. Zoom in on just one pixel, and you see only a small part of the picture. It’s easy to think that fixing this one pixel will improve the entire image, but in reality, the pixel only has meaning when seen in the context of the whole photo.
Focusing on a single issue, without considering how it interacts with others, is like trying to fix a whole photo by adjusting just one pixel. To truly create clarity and lasting change, we must step back and see how every issue interconnects. By understanding the big picture—how education affects poverty, how poverty affects abortion, how healthcare ties to social justice, for example—we can work on the broader system. The point is bringing harmony and balance to society as a whole, not fixing one issue that shouts for change. Fixing just one pixel won’t reveal the beautiful, complex image we’re trying to create, but addressing the bigger picture can transform it entirely.
Think of all the things that affect other things. For example, economic stability affects numerous needs: quality education, housing, healthcare, mental health, ability, jobs, transportation, and more.
Keep scrolling to find out what these purple pixel squares are.
Why the Bigger Picture Matters
If one person places all the focus on one issue, and another is zoomed in on another, there is a risk of missing how much our values and goals intersect. It’s easy to dehumanize someone else if I ignore the fact that we’re part of the same picture. Deeper discussions happen when we keep the big picture in mind and see that we have more in common than we realize.
There are multi-layered ways to approach so many issues together. Sometimes I wonder what it might be like if we collaborated more for the greater good rather than fighting from different corners.
Life wasn’t meant to be pixelated. I think of all the ways, even within the church, where I’ve seen the damage from pixelated approaches. For example, a hyper-focus on worship styles or doctrinal debates and other internal disputes at the risk of being disconnected from what people outside of our circles truly need. Jesus ministered to the hungry, the sick, and the struggling. It’s impossible to live our faith in word and action if stuck in our single-issue drama.
How Pixelation Manifests
There is such a thing as over-editing photos, and it applies to life too. After manipulating the image too much, it’s sometimes possible to accidentally override the high-quality image and save a version that is so low in resolution that the pixels stand out too much. It happens when an image has been stretched and cropped and zoomed beyond its original quality. A pixelated photo loses its detail and sharpness. And the jagged squares distort the image, and it loses its beauty.
Culture wars become defensive fortresses for our own boxes instead of working together for the beauty of the whole of society, the whole grid of boxes and colors and shades. Politics can divide us, or our common desire to heal and unify can paint a different picture.
I cannot ignore the need for dialogue on human life and homelessness, racial reconciliation or religious freedom. They are all pixels in the image. Beliefs about life, autonomy, and human rights exist alongside views on marriage, the economy, immigration, the environment, law enforcement, justice, and taxes.
Where Do We Go From Here?
We have to want to look at the whole picture. We have to want to see others as beautiful and not villains. We need to listen for empathy and understanding. When we listen to the lived experiences and concerns of others, it humanizes issues and reduces polarization.
When Jesus disagreed with someone’s behavior or beliefs, he often approached them with compassion rather than outright condemnation. He saw people as individuals made in the image of God, worthy of dignity, no matter their stance or sin.
Jesus often transcended the culture of his time by building relationships with people who were viewed as opponents or outsiders. Rather than focusing on winning arguments, he engaged relationally with individuals, allowing them to experience his love and truth firsthand. He modeled love. Didn’t get tangled in political traps. Reframed and refocused on the heart issues and God’s kingdom rather than getting caught in worldly conflicts. Invited transformation, healing, and reconciliation.
What was Jesus’s approach to handling vast differences? Asking thoughtful questions, challenging hypocrisy, showing compassion for those in the margin. Jesus focused on revealing God’s heart and bringing people closer to God, even amid deep opposition.
The tools for fixing a pixelated photo sound very much like Jesus’s model. My photo editing software includes buttons and filters such as restore, retouch, repair, and heal. We could all use a lot more of that.
When motivated by love, what a beautiful picture that creates.
Such a great analogy! I especially like the words you shared at the end (restore, heal, etc) which tie in so perfectly with what we should seek and pray for in our society today. Thanks for this!