Does My Opinion Count?

“I don’t think you should spend that amount of money on a car.” Hazel told her fiancé, my great uncle Elmore, in August 1921. Elmore and his brother inherited money from their aunt’s estate. He wanted a new car to give him more independence and mobility. Hazel’s opinion didn’t count at the time when my uncle put down $100 toward the $1500 price tag for the Buick Roadster.

Ladies, if you were Hazel, what would have been your opinion? You just got engaged. Two months earlier, you graduated from Cornell University, and you anticipated an upcoming wedding with Elmore. I wouldn’t fault her for comparing the cost of the car versus the cost of a wedding and setting up a household. If she shared that comparison, it didn’t change Elmore’s decision to buy the car.

Does your opinion count? It all depends what the opinion pertains to, who else is involved in the decision-making, and what people does the decision impact. Very simply, we find out immediately sometimes that our opinion matters. Other times, like my uncle’s fiancé, our opinion doesn’t matter at all. Finally, in some cases, time changes people’s opinion of us, and therefore, gives us more credibility in future situations.

The apostle Paul expressed his opinion while sailing to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. He told the Roman officer and the ship’s owner, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to the ship and the cargo, and to our own lives also.” The centurion, however, followed the advice of the pilot and the owner of the ship. (Acts 27:10-11) Pau’s opinion didn’t matter to the Roman military commander or to the owner of the ship. They chose to sail to a safer harbor for the winter.

What did Paul really know about where to anchor for the winter? Why should the officer and merchant have listened to Paul? He had two strikes against him. First, he wasn’t a career sailor. He had sailing experience, but he wasn’t a sailor. Second, he was a Roman citizen under arrest and being transported to Rome for his trial. His opinion didn’t matter.

What if Jesus Christ rejects our opinions? He rejected Peter’s opinion about laying down his life for his Lord. Peter asked, “Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me! I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” (John 13:37-38) Jesus rejected his disciple’s ignorant confidence in his unflinching devotion. The ancient prophecy, “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered,” wasn’t in his mind.

There are other examples of Jesus rejecting his disciples’ opinions. He silenced Judas’s opinion of Mary’s “waste” of her perfume. (John 12:7-8) He also rejected the disciples’ skepticism about how to feed the five thousand. (John 6:5-11) Today, our opinions don’t always matter to Jesus because he knows boasting about ourselves is arrogant and based on ignorance. He rejects our skepticism because he is able to do more than we doubt and more than we can ever imagine. Other times he rejects our opinions because we don’t understand the necessity of his death and burial.

Our sins are punishable offenses by our just and holy Creator. We can choose to pay the penalty ourselves. Or we can look to Jesus who suffered for us according to the will of God. He was raised up on the cross for us. He died for us. “But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself…so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…” (Hebrews 9:26-28) The animal sacrifices instituted  by God for Israel pointed to this ultimate, once for all sacrifice: “And by that will, [the will of God], we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (10:10)

The big issue for each of us is–do we accept Jesus Christ’s opinion of our greatest need, God’s great love and mercy, and the necessity to receive God’s forgiveness, reconciliation, and gift of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ? If you do, give thanks to him again today for what he has done for you. Tell someone else too. Live for him sincerely today.

If you have been rejecting Jesus Christ’s opinion about your greatest need, I urge you to repent of your arrogance and ignorance, turn to God, and trust in Christ now.

This brings me back to our passage of scripture. Paul’s opinion didn’t matter to the Roman commander or the ship’s owner. They plowed ahead with their united decision to set sail for the better harbor. What did Paul do? He trusted in God’s sovereignty to work through their decision. He had to because he didn’t have any authority on the boat at that time.

The winds arose and blew the ship off course. The crew and passengers went without food for many days, and feared for their lives. The storm gave Paul another opportunity to express his opinion. “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’” Paul went on to say, “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” (Acts 27:22-26) All 276 people on the boat survived their great ordeal.

What can you do when your opinion is rejected?

Ask God for humility to accept that you opinion doesn’t always matter. Try not to take it personally. This attitude points us to the character quality of flexibility. What is flexibility? I came across the following definition while reading about the hymn writer Adelaide Pollard. She wrote the lyrics to the song Have Thine Own Way, Lord. Flexibility is “not setting my affections on ideas or plans that could be changed by God or others.”

Trust God to work in spite of the rejection of your opinion. Caleb and Joshua had to do this after the other ten spies spread their negative assessment about entering the land of Canaan. The people leaned on their own understanding. (Numbers 13-14) They failed. Let’s learn from their failure and “Trust in the LORD with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding; in all our ways acknowledge him, and he will make our paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6; adapted)

Keep your connection to God open. An angel appeared to Paul on the ship. I’ve never had an angel visit me as far as I know. Until such a day, I have God’s word to guide me when my opinion doesn’t matter to others. God’s word is food and drink. It is counsel and the source of wisdom.  The Bible reminds us, “The LORD is my shepherd…though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and your staff comfort me.” (Psalm 23) The rejection of our opinions makes us feel sometimes like we’re walking through a dark valley threatening to kill us. God goes with us through the darkness.

Hazel’s opinion didn’t change my great uncle’s decision to purchase the car. In fact, her opinion played a small role in the termination of the engagement a year later. Elmore married a different woman and Hazel married also. Their marriages prospered until their spouses died in the late 1960s. Our opinions matter, but not always the way we think they should.