Opinions Are OK, But Know & Live In The Truth Of The Word

Word-of-the-Day: ‘Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.’ (James 1:26); ‘The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.’ (Proverbs 14:15)

It is true that everyone has an opinion.  Those opinions are based on experiences, education, and train of thought; each of these differ in whole or in part for each individual.  I remember a conversation many years ago over the topic of cloning; a question presented to me was if I could be cloned and an exact replica of me could be created, would I consider it?

While that question is intriguing, and it would be interesting if there were two or more of me wandering around (I’m certain that while there would be benefits for me personally, my spouse and my friends and colleagues would hate having two of me running around causing twice the havoc one of me currently creates; one of me is more than most can handle as it is).  However, I would not want to be cloned as while the genetic copy of me could be exactly the same, the development of the personality would not. 

I grew up in western Pennsylvania in the 1960s and 1970s, molded by the Army in the early 1980s, and married with children in the late 1980s and 1990s.  Becoming a Christian in 1995, and then living through 9/11 and working at major US combatant commands as a government contractor, and attending college to obtain a graduate degree, up until my life now as a retired ‘seasoned’ citizen; all are experiences that molded my personality and traits in who I am personally today. 

My clone would not have these experiences but different ones; even if he took a similar path, western Pennsylvania in the 2020s is no longer focused on the steel industry; the Army is no longer modeled by the lessons of Vietnam but on twenty years of the Global War on Terrorism.  My clone may decide to stay away from government contracting and avoid college but decide a trade would be better. 

I would pray that ‘alternate Elmer’ would be a Believer but there would be no guarantee of that.  His political leanings may even be more toward the progressive side and not the conservative side that I lean toward.  So, my physical clone would not be a mental or personality clone in terms of its experiences, education, and developed train of thought.  It could never be ‘me’ in the fullest sense, similar to identical twins may be similar in physical appearance but different in their experiences, likes and dislikes.

Therefore, we all have differing opinions, likes and dislikes.  Someone can root for Ohio State, while they can be allowed to be wrong in that opinion, they should be rooting for Penn State, as an example.  I can like certain foods while others wouldn’t touch them at all, let alone taste them.  These are all OK (even the rooting for the Buckeyes part); we can be different and like or dislike things others don’t.  There should be both the allowances for disagreement and differing opinions, without censorship or repression of opinions we disagree with.

But opinion does not negate Truth, the Truth being God’s Word as our foundational basis to all things meaningful.  James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote his epistle to defend the need for works in the life of a Christian, not in the sense that works is a part of Salvation (it isn’t) but more a part of Sanctification, the process of becoming more like Jesus through actions one takes.  The Believer, James provides, is one should act in a manner that promotes Jesus, being a mimic or reflection of what Jesus would do in a similar situation.

For us as Believers, while some of our secular opinions may differ (those who root for Ohio State can be as Faithful as those who root for Penn State; even those who root for Michigan surprisingly can be Faithful), our thoughts and actions in Faith should be almost identical in Truth.  We should all want to serve Jesus by mimicking Him, loving one another, ready to serve Him in humility based on the talents and gifts He provides each of us.

One can claim to be a Believer, but they, as James points out in James 1:26, deceive themselves when the replace the Truth with their opinion.  ‘I believe the Bible when it states <X>, but my opinion on it is <Y>’.  Some believe they are Faithful because they go to church, but their actions go against the Truth that is of God.  Some are swayed by what they read; while the Word-of-the-Day blog hopefully sways you toward a more God-based Truth, you should do more than taking my word for it.  One should use their critical thought process, and look into the Bible for evidence whether my words are Truthful.  It is not enough that a pastor or Christian scholar states a proclamation of truth, one should examine that proclamation against the Word to determine if it is indeed Truthful.

It is prudent to examine what is thought, said, or written.  This is true for what you say or believe as much as it is for what you hear or read others say or do.  The worst lies are those we tell ourselves; things that we think are OK to do, say, or believe that are not based in Truth.  If you seek the Truth, and learn what the Truth is, then you will recognize what Truth really is, and can identify what is true and what is not.  It’s not enough to think your Righteous, know what Righteousness is and live in Righteousness and do not be swayed away from the Truth.