Articles
The World That Wants Everyone to Be "Right"
The World That Wants Everyone to Be "Right"
Brett Petrillo
"Two men who lived in a small village got into a terrible dispute they couldn't resolve. So, they decided to talk to the town sage. The first man went to the sage's home and told his version of what happened. When he finished, the sage said, 'You're absolutely right.' The next night, the second man called on the sage and told his side of the story. The sage responded, 'You're absolutely right.' Afterward, the sage's wife scolded her husband. 'Those men told you two different stories and you told them both they were absolutely right. That's impossible -- they can't both be absolutely right.' The sage turned to his wife and said, 'You're absolutely right'" (sermonillustrations.com).
We all wrestle with indecisiveness. Sometimes it's just tough to make a firm decision. Especially with Google at our fingertips and social media giving everyone a microphone, we can get bombarded with so many different opinions and takes on a topic that it makes it hard to come to our own decision. This is especially true on matters of extreme importance, like truth. We're just scared of making the wrong choice.
There are, what seems like, millions of different opinions on Scriptural truth. There are views on salvation. There are ideas on the church. There are feelings on just about every other topic in the Bible. However, the most tragic part is nearly every opinion people put out there is coupled with a blatant disregard for what God actually says in His word. Worst of all, we've reached a time when people don't even care all that much about truth. People are more interested in being "accepting" and "non-judgmental" than in discovering the truth. In other words, our world thinks that everyone is "right" in their own way and our time is better spent in total acceptance of each other, no matter our differences.
The bottom line is, not all opinions can be right. There can only be one right choice, one truth. And this truth can only be found through a diligent, careful, and honest study of God's word. This means we have to check our opinions and personal biases at the door. This means we have to be willing accept something that might differ from what we thought was right. This means we have to understand that some of our closest family and friends might be wrong. Sad as it is, the majority of people are not willing to accept the path of truth, but instead go with the easy path with the majority (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23).
In the end, the only thought that matters on any religious topic is God's. He breathed out ("inspired") every single word in the Bible, which makes every word important (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He provided us with every single verse we need to show us how to be godly and to behave in this life (2 Peter 1:3). He even made it clear that Jesus is the only way to get to God, the only source of truth, and the only way to receive eternal life (John 14:6).
Let's be careful not to fall into traps that pull us away from the truth. The truth may not always be popular, but it's always right. The truth may not always be accepted, but it's still the truth regardless. In our increasingly resistant culture, let's have the courage to accept the truth, speak the truth, and stay with the truth.
