Opinion - a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. Wow! Isn't that true. Judged without all the facts. How many of us have gone through the "judgment mill" and been totally torn apart by someone without all the facts. Being in ministry for over 30 years has given me the distinct privilege of getting beat to death by half truths from people's opinions. We run to bad news or the hint of bad news as fast as we can. We sprint to find out something about somebody, that may or may not be true, so we can be the first to know. Some people feel like it's their duty to be the judge, jury, and jailer when it comes to information. And it doesn't even have to be the truth. No..... No....... we stop there and just go by OPINION! What is our opinion worth? Not much if it has any hint of error. I've come to find out you can't believe the first thing you hear or see. You need to peel it back(like an onion) to get to the real source of where the information is coming from. Usually it comes from someone who has been hurt, is jealous, feels unappreciated, or the worst one, they are evil. You see, we want to have an opinion without having the facts about something. Why? Because the facts just minimize how much we can hurt another person at the time. The facts become secondary and my opinion becomes the truth. Daniel Patrick Moynihan said it well when he said "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Proverbs 12:6 says it even better. The words of the wicked kill; the speech of the upright saves.
I am almost (almost) amused when someone tries to tear me down with their opinion when they don't even know my heart or my motives. They act like they are God, just looking straight into my brain and my heart, knowing all they need to know to judge me. I just have to ask this one thing, "How do you feel about me when you strive so hard to hurt me?" My OPINION is "you hate me! I'm just sayin that the proof is in the pudding. When you say that to someone they suddenly feel like they are the ones sinning and it causes such a problem for them (in a competitive way) that they don't know what to do. The tables have been turned. You want to say, "What's your opinion of that?" No answer.....
Usually when you go ahead and peel back that onion, you know, peel inside, you see that their heart is hurting and that evil has made a home in it. In other words, their core is spoiled and that causes all their thoughts to turn poisonous when coming out on top, because they fear being wrong. You know what God says about being wrong don't you? Romans 3:23 - "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." So our conclusion about our opinions should be "if you aren't God, keep them to yourself." Let me tell you the result of a very opinionated, judgmental person keeping it to themselves. They will have to get right with God or they will explode. One or the other. True honesty with self will have to be realized and the end result will be peace. Real peace. They won't have to be God in all these things they hear and know. The pressure is off!!
Opinions are amazing things that can be used for good when the truth is driving them. But they can be disastrous when used with bad motives and weak information. If you want to have the right attitude when wanting to offer them, peel inside to see where the source is coming from. If it's from selfish motives to gain something for yourself; keep it to yourself and be big for a change. You will hurt those you supposedly say you love much less, and you will become the encourager God wants you to be.
2 Timothy 3:16 says, "Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another - showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. There's one sure fire way to find the truth about what's at the core of your onion and that is God's Word. If you read God's Word and don't come away changed, you've got bigger problems than you realize. That's just my OPINION!!
The Pilgrimage continues.....
David Warren
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