The Opinion of the Masses

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Public opinion is not a bad thing.
Neither is the popular opinion
(not inherently, anyway.)

It’s wonderful that we as a culture and
generation
and people
are able to cultivate our own views on life
and love
and belonging.

But…

…if you’re like me (a normal human being)
then you’ve had a time or two
where your opinion is not the popular one.
Where your choice, is the one
condemned by the masses.

I am not a person that easily opposes the status quo.
Not in public,
not in church,
and not in my family.
I value the opinion and outlook of others to a fault:
to the point where what was once just the popular
opinion, has now become my opinion.

I don’t think I’m crazy when I say I want to be liked.
I want to make life easier for people,
and I want to be well-received.

And, if you are indeed a human as I am,
then you know that the popular opinion is a heavy pendulum
that can take centuries to swing.
Who am I, to go up against such a thing?
Who am I to oppose the status quo?
To resent it?

But I have been resenting it of late,
and I’ll tell you why:

I believe that I was called to this race.
To this World Race.
I believe that this is where God wants me.
I believe that this is not a mere opinion
that I haven’t thought through,
or a good idea
that only just now hit me.

 

This World Race…this is not a view or a judgment.
This is a call,
and I believe in this call,
and I believe in the One whose called me.

Opinions are easy to pick up,
and even easier to drop when they become too heavy,
or too inconvenient.

Not so with a belief.
I can’t simply pick it up and chuck it out the window.
I can listen to your logic, and I can
understand your reasoning,
and I can feel your fear,
and I can hear your protests,
but
I cannot change what is true.

I believe that your’re entitled to your opinion:
on me, and on my life,
and what I’ve chosen to do with it.
But I also believe that your opinion
is just what the definition says it is:
a judgement.
You may have the best argument in the world
against me traveling this world for this Gospel,

But here’s the thing.
I know the Judge,
and He sees things differently.

The Great Commission

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20

To everyone who knows me,
I want you to know that I love you.
Not in the feeling kind of way,
but in the real, deep, true way
that will withstand any opinion
and any judgement that
you might toss my direction.

But to everyone who knows me,
I have to say this:
I am going on this Race,
and while that may not be the popular opinion
or what you view as the logical decision,
my Judge has already handed down my commission,
and it is to GO.

I believe that with all my heart.
I believe that it doesn’t take years,
or months,
or even weeks to change a life.

Only a moment of hearing God’s opinion of you,
can lead to a lifetime of belief.

I believe in the bible,
and I believe in Exodus 20 and Genesis 3,
in the same way that I believe in Luke 13
or John 16, or Acts 8.

 

Speaking of Acts 8, let’s talk about it for a second.

Acts 8:26-40
Philip and the Ethiopian
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

In an Acts 8 commentary [click HERE to read it in its entirety!]
[In immediate obedience, with little information but complete trust in the God who guides, Philip sets out. For God to summon Philip from a thriving ministry in Samaria to the wilderness of the Judean hills is not an irrational move. God’s goal is not only “quantity” but also “quality,” in the sense of an ethnically diverse body of Christ (Rev 5:9). In a day when four of six billion have yet to hear the gospel within their own language and culture, we should not be surprised to see God calling our most effective evangelists to go to remote places. And like Philip, they should obey immediately and unquestioningly.]

So….yeah.
I know.
My decision may not be popular,
and you may not agree with it,
but I love you and would ask you
to believe me when I say,
this is what God’s calling me to do.

And maybe, just maybe, God’s calling you to believe that too.

 

 

To my fellow racers,
I say take heart!
Even if you end up all alone on a see-saw in the middle of the park,
and no one seems to be behind you,
don’t let it shake you,
and don’t let it change your belief
into an opinion.
Stand strong even when you’re the minority, 
and even when it feels like you’re standing alone.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
-Deuteronomy 31:8