In conversations with Josh, when I want him to tell me what he thinks about something, I will often refer to the fact that I could, at this very moment, give him my opinion about anything. Point to anything, and I can tell you what I think about that object, topic, or person. (It has been a process for me to realize that Josh is a thinker, and it's harder for him to tell me his opinion until he quietly thinks about it.)
It takes a very conscious effort for me to withhold my opinions sometimes, especially when I am not asked my opinion...because after all, if people wanted to know my opinion on something, they'd ask, right? Now, after a couple run-ins with a very opinionated woman, who was absolutely exhausting and annoying to be with, I decided I was on the track to being like her, and something needed to change.
So, I have a lot to say on these three little verses today, because this is something where I need some work. It bothers me SO much when I see overly-opinionated people who force their opinions on others and who will never listen to another side because they just know they're right. The conversation with those people is one-sided, which makes it not a conversation at all. They have no love -- they just want to be right. Well, this bothers me a lot, and often the things that bother us most in others are, low-and-behold, present in us, too. Ouch.
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. There, Paul said it. He said, yes Molly. Everyone knows that you have some knowledge or opinion you'd like to impart, because we ALL do! We all do. Everyone thinks their knowledge is the correct knowledge, or we wouldn't think what we do. (We'll get back to the food sacrificed to idols part tomorrow).
...But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Paul says, we know that you have knowledge and opinions, BUT. That "but" means that knowledge is not the most important thing. Knowledge does make us feel important -- it's as if we have this gem that someone else doesn't have. It's a one-upper! And all it does is puff us up -- our heads, our chests, our pride. And just like we humans do, we take something good that God made, like knowledge and wisdom, and turn it into something we can lord over others. We've twisted it, and made it to be something that makes people feel less-than. BUT LOVE...here comes the opposite. Love builds. Love lasts. You can let the air out of something that is "puffed" up, but if something is built, it's much stronger and more solid. And what is LOVE? Perhaps you remember, that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs" (1 Cor. 13:4-5).
Everyone doesn't have to agree with our opinions, because that's just what they -- AN OPINION. Our opinions are not always the truth, and they that are not what is important at all. But we do need to love.
So how do we change this desire to be right and to spread our way of thinking?
2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God. The grip that "being right" has on us is tight, but there is a way to change our desires. We must acknowledge that we do not know everything. In fact, if we think we know a lot, then we really don't know much at all, because if we really knew God, we would know just how little we do know. Our humble hearts reveal a wisdom and knowledge far greater than our proud minds. Our strong opinions often make it difficult for us to be willing to listen and learn from God and others. But we obtain God's knowledge only by loving Him. He is the source of all knowledge. And it is not our knowledge, but our love, that counts in God's eyes.
I recently heard a prominent pastor as he was being interviewed. The person asked the pastor if he would give his opinion on something, and this humble, older man chuckled and said, "I can give you an opinion, but it may not be right." I look at this man and think that whatever he'd say surely must be the truth because he just oozes Jesus, but even with all his years and fame, he still knew that it was not he but God who knows everything.
May that be the attitude of my heart, too.
I don't know everything. I just don't. And just because I feel strongly about something, doesn't automatically make it right. I still need to speak gently and with love. And when I hold myself up beside the perfection of Jesus, I am wrong...a lot.
Lord, help me to be humble in my interactions with people today. Help me to seek only Your wisdom, and not for the sake of my own pride, but that I might better love the people in my life.
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