We're drowning in opinions.
Every company wants yours. After a routine phone call, they ask if you'll stay on for "a brief survey." Retail stores email requesting feedback. Text messages arrive promising your opinion is "desperately needed." Here's the irony: industry insiders have told me those post-call surveys aren't primarily about gathering insights. Companies know that if you've had a frustrating experience, venting in a short survey makes you less likely to complain publicly. They've learned we're so eager to share our opinions that we've become predictably manageable.
That's one side of the equation.
The Opinion Paradox
On the other side, social media constantly reminds us: People need your love more than your opinion. Perhaps. There are certainly times when someone needs compassion more than correction. But there are also situations where I desperately need my doctor's informed opinion—lovingly incorrect advice could cost me my life. The irony, of course, is that "people need your love more than your opinion" is itself an opinionated opinion about opinions. Perhaps more accurate: Make sure when giving your opinion, you do so with love. But that doesn't fit as neatly in an Instagram square.
There's a tension in our nature that demands reconciling. We genuinely love giving our opinions. Even introverts can't resist signaling their firmly held views, if only through passive-aggressive hints or coded language. And sometimes we're so loose with our opinions that we lose influence altogether—people learn to tune us out. Like the boy who cried wolf when there was none, many people waste their credibility spouting views on trivial matters. When their opinion could actually make a difference, nobody listens.
The Exhaustion of Everyone's Truth
Here's what we rarely discuss: the sheer volume of opinions flooding our consciousness has created a kind of cultural exhaustion.
Consider what previous generations never faced. Your great-grandparents might have encountered a few dozen opinions on any given issue—from family, their pastor, the local newspaper, perhaps a radio program. Today, before breakfast, you've likely been exposed to hundreds. Social media algorithms serve you an endless buffet of hot takes. Cable news runs 24/7 debate panels. Podcasters and YouTubers multiply perspectives into infinity. Everyone with a smartphone has become a pundit with a platform.
The result isn't wisdom. It's paralysis disguised as sophistication.
When everyone's opinion is equally accessible, many conclude that no opinion is more valid than another. "That's just your truth" has become the reflexive dismissal that ends conversations before they begin. The information age promised to make us more knowledgeable; instead, it's made many people epistemically exhausted—so overwhelmed by competing claims that they've surrendered the very idea that objective truth exists.
This represents a profound spiritual danger. Scripture is clear that truth isn't merely personal preference—it's grounded in the nature of God Himself. Jesus didn't say, "I am a truth" or "I have my truth." He declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Pilate's cynical question—"What is truth?"—wasn't profound philosophy; it was a dodge. And it's the same dodge our culture makes when drowning in opinions seems easier than doing the hard work of discerning what's actually true.
For Christians, this environment creates a particular temptation: to either retreat into tribal certainty (my group's opinions are all correct, everyone else's are wrong) or to collapse into relativistic despair (nobody can really know anything). Neither response honors God. Biblical wisdom calls us to something harder: humble confidence that truth exists, diligent study to discern it, and gracious engagement with those who disagree.
The antidote to opinion overload isn't fewer opinions—it's wisdom about which opinions deserve weight and which voices have earned credibility. Not every perspective merits equal consideration. A lifetime of study, proven character, and demonstrated fruit should count for something. The democratization of opinion hasn't eliminated expertise; it's simply made discerning expertise more difficult.
The Facts Don't Care About Your Opinion
Compounding the problem, we naturally enjoy giving our opinion far more than receiving the opinions of others—including those who know more than we do about the subject at hand. No one likes a know-it-all, and no one wants to appear ignorant. This creates a persistent conundrum.
We like to feel we secretly know more than others. Social media and the internet exacerbate this because everyone has access to information that may or may not be correct—let alone helpful. If you need an example, spend a few minutes on a medical self-diagnosing website. You'll be convinced you have some rare condition you didn't know existed an hour ago.
Wisdom and Opinion
Because of my ministerial calling, the subject of opinions intrigues me deeply. The word itself is complicated because the question of how to separate opinion from fact (or truth) becomes paramount to any meaningful discussion. It's easier to dismiss something as "just an opinion" than to face an inconvenient truth we don't want to hear. Conversely, opinion-givers often package unnecessary bias as fact when it would be better framed as personal perspective—or left unstated entirely.
That's where wisdom enters. And humility.
I won't pretend I've perfected the art of knowing when and how to give my opinion. I'm a work in progress. But I am slowly learning to grow in wisdom and humility. A case could be made that ministry and all forms of leadership revolve around the perfecting of opinions—hopefully grounded in timeless biblical truths, Spirit-led wisdom, and intentional humility.
Indeed, preaching is divinely designed to shape, change, and rearrange fleshly views. Much of ministry encompasses dispensing opinions or offering wisdom to others.
Sacred Opinion vs. Secular Opinion
Ministry differs dramatically from almost every secular leadership environment. In the corporate world, every opinion turned policy must be followed or you lose your job. That's even more true in military structures. Government positions work the same way. Secular leadership structures impose immediate consequences for ignoring leaders' opinions.
Ministers have God-given authority (and we could debate another time how absolute that authority should be according to Scripture), but that authority cannot and should not be imposed forcefully. The Bible is clear: shepherds must not lord over the flock (1 Peter 5:3). I prefer the ESV translation: "not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock."
Influence: The Currency of Ministry
The harsh reality of ministry is that you spend more time counseling and comforting people after they discarded your opinion than just about anything else. After hundreds of those sessions—biting your tongue half off to keep from saying "I told you so"—authoritarianism starts looking appealing. Or you might be tempted never to offer a wise opinion and just live and let live. Countless burned-out ministers have expressed that exact feeling to me. I understand.
The currency of ministry is influence, and that's challenging to maintain ethically while staying true to complex yet fundamental principles. Everything in this world strives to gain influence over the people under a shepherd's care. Most of those influences seek to undermine spiritual guidance, and a shepherd can't use his staff to beat sheep into submission.
That sounds like a no-brainer, but it's less obvious when a shepherd watches one of his sheep following a wolf into the wilderness.
So let me offer my opinionated opinions about dispensing opinions—most learned through trial and error.
More Listening and Less Speaking
James 1:19 instructs us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. Ecclesiastes 3:7 reminds us there is a time for silence and a time to speak. Proverbs 17:27 (ESV) says, "Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding." And Proverbs 18:13 (ESV) declares, "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame."
These Scriptures underscore how every Christian should approach offering opinions: we should do less speaking and more listening.
There's more wisdom here than we might immediately recognize. First, less speaking gives us more time to gather our thoughts and offer a well-worded opinion. Second, it allows us to hear all relevant information before jumping to wrong conclusions or getting ahead of the facts. Third, it enables us to maintain a calm demeanor that projects wisdom and understanding rather than impatience and impetuousness.
There is a time to speak our opinion, but learning to listen long enough is a discipline many leaders lack. I've found that people will reveal things they didn't intend if I let them speak long enough, allowing me to understand what I'm really dealing with beneath the surface. Had I spoken sooner, my advice would have missed the mark entirely.
More Building Up and Less Tearing Down
Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Similarly, Ephesians 4:29 (ESV) says, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."
It's easy to focus on other people's failures, negatives, and outright stupidity when offering opinions. That mindset results in an offensive, critical, condescending, and prideful demeanor.
That doesn't mean constructive criticism or outright correction is never warranted. Warnings and disapproval must be seasoned with grace and should fit the occasion. Don't do a disapproval dump—the and-while-I'm-at-it-let-me-say-this variety. Most people can only handle so much constructive criticism at once. If they feel you've been waiting to pounce, it can be crushing to even the hardiest spirit.
A good rule of thumb: temper each negative statement with at least one or two positive comments. Never tear down without building up at the same time. Never lance an infection without applying ointment and bandaging it with care.
More Praying Before Answering
Numbers 9:1–14 recounts a fascinating leadership lesson from Moses' early ministry. The Israelites had been in the wilderness for one year after leaving Egypt, and God gave specific instructions on when to celebrate the Passover. Moses dutifully passed the instructions along.
Then a few men approached Moses with a problem. They had come into contact with a dead body, rendering them ceremonially unclean and technically disqualified from celebrating the Passover at the God-ordained time. This might sound trivial to our New Testament thinking, but it was a big deal with no obvious solution.
Moses' response is an example for us all. He said, "Wait here until I have received instructions for you from the Lord" (Numbers 9:8).
If we all prayed more before giving opinions, everyone would be in better shape. We'd likely throw our opinions out less often—but with better results. Why? Because prayer forces us to make sure our opinion is actually God's opinion. And that makes all the difference.
More Replying and Less Coercing
One day King Zedekiah called for the prophet Jeremiah to come speak with him. "I want to ask you something," the king said firmly. "And don't try to hide the truth."
Jeremiah's response contains a lesson about handling knowledge: "If I tell you the truth, you will kill me. And if I give you advice, you won't listen to me anyway" (Jeremiah 38:15, ESV).
Most people can't wait to give their opinion—they'd be beside themselves if a king wanted their advice. Yet Jeremiah knew opinions are a dime a dozen, and wasting advice on people who won't receive it can produce more damage than good. After some back and forth, Jeremiah eventually offered his opinion—but only after ensuring the king was sincerely ready to receive it.
Proverbs 1:5 (ESV) declares, "Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance." Proverbs 15:12 (ESV) asserts, "A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise."
Here's the harsh point: if you have to chase people down to give them your opinion, you're wasting your time. The moment you find yourself trying to coerce people into enduring your opinion, the struggle for influence has already been lost. That doesn't mean you can't regain it, but the timing is off.
People ready to receive counsel will come to you. And those who never seek wise opinions would do well to consider Ecclesiastes 4:13 (ESV): "Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice."
More Love and Less of Everything Else
I know Ephesians 4:15 gets taken out of context frequently, but it would be foolish to have this discussion without referencing its admonition to speak the truth in love.
The old saying holds: people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Beyond that, some people will never care how much you care or how much you know. Love them anyway, but save your breath for those willing to listen. Even people willing to listen will reject your opinion if you give it without love.
Let's commit ourselves to the hard work of loving more than spouting off opinions. Cold-hearted leaders harm the truth with their actions despite their correct words. Cloak hard facts in the softness of love. If they reject your wisdom and leadership, you can stand before the Lord with a blameless heart.
More Wisdom and Less Foolishness
Let's shift from giving opinions to the importance of receiving correct views from others.
Regardless of status, we all need wise counsel, or we descend into foolishness. Fyodor Dostoevsky once said, "The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month." President John F. Kennedy noted, "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
Both quotes articulate a self-deprecating truth: even the wisest among us still need the wisdom of those more discerning. Intelligent people know their weaknesses and acknowledge their blind spots. Foolish people insist on trusting their own insufficiencies to their detriment.
The psalmist promised, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly" (Psalm 1:1). Proverbs 13:20 warned, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." The apostle Paul cautioned in Colossians 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
It's not enough to know you need the opinions of others. Having the prudence to find good, godly counsel is the key that unlocks the door to sagacity. Astute people seek advice from wise people. Foolish people glean from the opinions of fools.
More Peace and Less Drama
James 3:17–18 is one of my favorite passages (ESV):
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
If you're wondering how to discern righteous opinions from fleshly opinions, circle and highlight this passage in your Bible.
Godly opinions always seek peace. That doesn't mean they're weak or watered down. It means they're working hard to be peaceful, merciful, sincere, and impartial. Each of those qualities takes courage, effort, and intentionality.
Contentiousness, cantankerousness, condescension, and divisiveness don't require much exertion—they're baked into our sinful nature. Look for leaders who strive to keep peace and attempt to be that kind of leader yourself.
If you do, you will reap a harvest of righteousness.
