We are inundated with words and opinions, which have accelerated with social media. So… whose opinion matters? Who and what do we believe? What do we act on?
There are four categories of the sources of opinions.
God
For Christians, it is clear, God’s opinion matters! And not only that, He is truth and all He says is true.
If you don’t believe, God still is Truth! Watch out.
O Lord, God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)
The World/Satan
Everything Satan says is a lie. He wants to damage us, destroy us.
He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
Ourselves
We talk to ourselves all the time. ALL the time. We must be careful what we say to ourselves. I remember a comic where the grandfather asked his granddaughter why she was upset. She said: “I was talking to myself. And, well, things were said.” Isn’t that true?!
I’ve been asked if I believe everything a certain person says. Well, no, but I don’t always agree with myself either. We have to evaluate what we say to ourselves according to the Bible.
Others
With others, we have to exercise discernment. Other people vary in their importance to us; a spouse’s opinion has different weight than a stranger in the store. And other people are more or less operating according to the Spirit or the flesh.
You shouldn’t even always listen, but you should always evaluate according to God’s truth. And to do that you have to know God’s truth.
How to get it right
Since God is Truth, and God’s “opinion” is the total truth, He is where we need to start. His truth is contained in His Word, the Bible, so the better we know the Bible, the better we know the truth.
The better we know the Bible, God’s truth, the better we can detect lies and misinformation.
What to do
STUDY God’s Word! Memorize! Meditate! Make God’s Word a integral part of your being.
Press on!
