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Ah, the age of opinions!

Days are long right now. Arguments are easy to come by. People are angry. And it's exhausting.

 No one is happy. Not shocking. An unknown entity has infiltrated our lives with vigor and is unrelenting in its ferocity and effects. It has infected hundreds of thousands across the globe. It's killing people who appeared to stand the best chance at fighting it.

 Guess what, though?  I'm not talking about Covid-19.

 I'm talking about personal opinions.

 Oh, the news is full of opinions.  And, the "professional" social media people sure have their opinion, too.  

 Try as I might, almost every time I've shared my opinion, even qualifying it as such, I get bombarded with reasons as to why my opinion is wrong.

 Having an opinion isn't wrong. It's normal. It's what free-thinking humans are gifted with: a brain that gathers information and formulates it into something they believe.

 What is wrong with opinions is how you wield them.

 Republican or Democrat.
Pro-Life or Pro-Choice.
Slowly open the states or Open fully immediately.
Masks or No Masks.
Gun control or full gun rights.
Chocolate cake of Lemon cake.

 You are welcome to your opinion as I am welcome to mine.  It remains just that: an opinion. It doesn't mean it is truth. Guess what? It doesn't even mean it's right.

 The literal definition of opinion is: a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

 Friends, we need to try harder at showing love. It's tough, I know. It's hard to see other's opinions that are so wildly different than your own. I don't know about you, but I come to each of my opinions with great effort. I don't change my opinion on a whim when the next article on Yahoo posts. I'm guessing most of you don't either. 

 We also have to work harder at sharing our own personal opinion and not lambasting someone else for not sharing that same opinion. We also have to work harder at forming opinions based on fact, not on emotion. 

 There's lots of scary information floating out there right now. I have found it necessary to steer away from a lot of news and can't seem to catch a break on Facebook so I steer clear of most of that, too.  

 I'm not here to tell you that my opinions are superior to yours. I'm here to remind us all that we're all in need of someone to listen right now.  We're all in need of being supported. And we're all desperately in need of kindness.

 Scroll past opposing views.  If you truly think they're wrong, talk to the Lord about them. He listens and it's He'll work on them. But, do me a favor and do as I did recently. Talk to God about YOUR opinions. Ask Him to help you lay out your opinions and see if they are in line with His.  He's worked with me on a few things I realized were just what I wanted, not His will.  And He's help me form a more solid basis of truth on some other things.
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 ESV)


A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. (Prov. 18:2)

Comments

  1. StephMay 12, 2020 at 8:49 PM

    My husband and I got into an argument about opinions several months ago. We were discussing something and I gave my opinion. He told me I was wrong, that my opinion was wrong. I had to explain to him that I could not be wrong because it was MY opinion. That my opinion is based on my thoughts, knowledge and feelings. He can not like my opinion, but my that doesn't make my opinion wrong. I had to show him the definition of opinion (basically what I told him) for him to understand HE was wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Notes to Self...and Whoever's ListeningJune 4, 2020 at 2:19 PM

    Glad you were able to work that out. Tough, huh? Hardest when they're so close to us, too. Thanks for sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete

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