An Opinion is only a State of Mind.

An opinion is only a state of mind; it does not predict the future. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines opinion as “a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.” We too often give too much credence to someone’s opinion, including our own. Many of the disagreements I hear are formed when opinions differ.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” — Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning.

Christian Opinion

As a Christian, I think it is time to walk back our opinions. We often take too strong a stand on our emotional state about a subject. The genesis of our opinions is not our knowledge of the future, but environmental elements of our past. We form opinions because of past experiences, cultural, or social influences, media information, peer pressure, group dynamics, personal and emotional bias, education, and personal interest. There are probably many other reasons, but none of these reasons is knowledge of the future.

Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Having a strong opinion about a matter does nothing to make a difference. Making a difference comes from active involvement in relieving the condition you oppose or improving a condition in which you feel a deficit. Telling everyone you meet your opinion only stirs up controversy. Controversy gives birth to anxiety, which fosters conflict.

2 Timothy 2:23-24 – “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.”

Influencers

We live in a dysfunctional world full of misinformation and half-truths. Millions of people write online articles to create conflict by influencing public opinion. They do this out of greed, not as a public service. The more diversion they can create, the more site traffic they create, the more advertising income they receive. These are not people interested in improving the world. Their goal is to create income with passionate speeches and convoluted logic.

Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

“Tolerance isn’t about not having beliefs. It’s about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.” – Tim Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (2008)

There are legitimate influencers with a true passion for their cause. Some of their causes are misguided and based on sketchy logic, but they are heartfelt. Some influencers take great pains to find the truth and communicate it with an objective view, but it is rare. We are all influenced by the abovementioned reasons; no one is above unconscious influence.

Our Position

Proverbs 18:2 – “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.”

“One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.”- John Piper, A Godward Life: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (1997)

Our position as Christians is to rise above the ordinary. We can’t stop having opinions—God-given emotions overflow into opinions—but we can watch how we communicate them; consciously acknowledging that they are emotions, not facts. Changing the future by arguing a position is counterintuitive. We change the future by doing, not talking.

James 1:19 – “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”