Today it seems as though everyone is trying to get their opinion out there on anything that's important to them, especially when they disagree with someone else's opinion. And there's so much out there to disagree about! Even among believers, so many seem bent on criticizing other believers' beliefs or lives. It's as though we've forgotten how much people mean to God and that He has called us to always show respect to others, whether we agree with them or not.
We need to ask ourselves what our purpose is for living. Is it to get our "right" opinion out there…or to honor God and further the spread of the gospel? Honestly, the truth is that most people don't really care what you think, or if you go to church, or whether you know and say all the right things. What gets their attention is what you do. It's how you show your faith. The Scripture says it this way: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6 NIV). What pleases and honors God is when we express our faith in Him through loving acts to other people.
So how do we love people who are really difficult and who strongly disagree with us? We have to look beyond their opinions and beyond our feelings and love them in faith as Jesus did. The Scripture says that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and…he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him" (Acts 10:38 NIV). He was empowered to do good. And in doing good, He brought healing everywhere He went.
The good news is that you and I have been anointed to do good as well, whether we feel loving or not! We've been empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring healing to people and to promote the good news of Jesus Christ! Our anointing brings God on the scene! We can do far, far more through love than we can by spreading our opinions. Amazingly, God works through the expressions of our love and touches the lives of others!