If You Want My Opinion...

Just ask Jason and he'll tell you - I have an opinion about everything. So much so that I once even considered writing a book about nothing but my opinions. From politics to what brand of toilet paper works best, I would cover all the ins and outs. That was until I came to my senses and realized what an arrogant idea it was and that no one would care enough to buy it in the first place.

I'm always curious as to why a complete stranger would stop and ask for my opinion on which color of shirt her son would like best. Umm...why does it really matter what I think? But I always give an answer and feel a surprising sense of ownership about it. Almost as if she didn't go with my choice, she would be making a huge mistake and her son would be cheated out of looking his best. This all seems so silly to be but it does lead me to wonder what is an "opinion" anyway?

The dictionary defines it as "a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty." Here is where it all breaks down. Opinion means nothing. Nothing! Anything you can not say with complete certainty should not be given much relevance in our society. So why are there hundreds of TV shows, radio programs, magazine and newspapers dedicated to nothing but a bunch of opinions? Everybody is out to influence somebody with their opinion on the issues of the day.

That's where an opinion can become a menace. When we start to believe ourselves so much that opinion becomes blurred with fact. I'm a black and white thinker, shades of gray leave me feeling vulnerable. In a world beginning to put it's faith in relativism, I have a hunger for absolutes. But there's only one place to find this - God. His word is the way to find real truth - something that really matters.

I've started to learn - slowly- that the things I can feel so impassioned about, fight so strongly for, get so bent out of shape over, might ultimately mean nothing. That's not an easy thing for me, but it does help me understand the value of putting my efforts towards things that do matter, that do have eternal value, that change our world for the better, that transform or save a live, that preserve our heritage of faith.

So maybe instead of writing a letter to the newspaper protesting the treatment of Republican candidates or calling Frisco city hall about the timing of street lights, I'll write to congress about keeping the Ten Commandments posted in the court houses or emailing a new station in thanks for a positive story they aired about keeping Christ in Christmas.

For the sake of having something to say on this blog, I won't keep all my meaningless opinions to myself. So which toilet paper is best? Glad you asked...the cheapest!