Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD): “The opinion of ten thousand men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject.” Opinions are a dime a dozen. Care enough to find out the facts and form your own convictions instead of parroting what is tossed out like slop in the information trough, gobbled up by our culture.

Think about the broad brush strokes used to win arguments and knock down opponents. Can anyone tell me – who is the religious right that I hear quoted and mocked so often? Who are those crazy left-leaners who are trounced by those who lean right with glee?

Red state, blue state, can we get a TRUTH state?

Before you trot out your brilliant opinion, take a moment to consider and insure that your contribution is of value or even desired. Ferret out the facts before you opine.

You are unique and equipped to be a gift to those around you.

Give yourself permission to know who you are and may your opinion be based on truth and wisdom.

1 Corinthians 2:6-13, The Message (MSG): “We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest – what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text: No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it – 
What God has arranged for those who love him. But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you. The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God – except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.”