Right now our culture is divided. It’s safe to say that everyone is upset about some injustice somewhere. We all have an opinion. Everyone wants to be heard but no one wants to listen. Like every mom knows best, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Have you heard the saying? “Opinions are like @$$-holes everybody has one.” I admit it’s not my favorite saying but the message it communicates is true.
Now hear me, I’m not saying opinions are bad. There are actually injustices in this world and we do need advocates to help make change.
“Love does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices whenever truth wins out.” 1 Corinthians 13:6
And in the same breath...
"If I possessed all knowledge, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:2
We are so set on our opinions that we would rather share a viewpoint and be right, than share love and be like Christ!
We are missing it!
I have seen more people stand up for what they believe is right and bulldoze people with hate and cruelty without a glance of regret. Can you see it? Arrogantly with their nose in the air, almost as if they’re saying “All you who disagree with me are beneath me and deserves this hateful shade I’m throwing your way!”
Did Jesus throw shade on the cross?
If anyone had an injustice to throw shade about it was Him. Yet we see love abound. His life, full of hope, and understanding was motivated by love.
Are we sharing our opinions motivated by love?
I think many of us would say, “Yes” but do we really know what real love is?
Love isn’t rude
Love does not demand its own way
Love is not irritable
Love doesn’t take offense
1 Corinthians 13:5
Have you ever been rude to someone because you didn’t share the same viewpoint?
Have you ever demanded that your way was the only correct one?
Have you ever been irritated with someone who disagreed with you?
Have you (or are you currently) holding onto unforgiveness or offense toward someone or multiple people because you felt you were hurt by them and it all stemmed from a difference of opinion?
There are a lot of soapboxes to be standing on in our culture today. But none, NONE, of these issues will be heard unless love abounds in the pursuit of justice.
I need to say this again for those of you who truly want to see change.
NONE of these issues WILL BE HEARD, unless LOVE abounds in you and through YOU!
Your life needs to be consumed by love if you want to make a difference, a real one.
So let’s change our approach. Act like what God says is true and we have the power to speak life or death into someone. You’ll start to realize the truth of that as you walk in love.
In our current culture, we are more concerned with people hearing our opinions, than we are with people being loved by us.
What would it look like if we cared more about being an example of Christ’s love, than we did about sharing our opinions?
What if we cared more about extending the grace of Christ, than about convincing others of their wrongdoing, based on our viewpoints?
We quickly forget that it’s Christ’s kindness that leads us to repentance! Not His strong arm. Not His wrath. Not His anger filled post on Facebook.
His kindness. Because LOVE is kind and Christ is Love.
We win with Love
- Amanda Santistevan
