Revelation 3:15 -- On Being Opinionated

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot."
Revelation 3:15


I was thinking of this scripture this morning, and I think sometimes God just wants us to THINK, right?  We often back away from issues, trying to be Switzerland and not take sides, but if we don't think about the issues and we try to please everyone, then we aren't really developing opinions and thinking for ourselves, or standing up for anything... and to learn to be like God, and to walk in his footsteps, we have to think about things, and learn about them, and figure out where we stand... even when it is hard.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I am in no way saying that we should be fanatical about everything and refuse to compromise.  In order to maintain relationships and make good things happen in the world, sometimes we need to work with people who disagree with us, and it's hard to find two people who agree about *everything,* so just getting through life requires some compromise and collaboration, to find answers that help people to live together and respect each other. 

There are, of course, some things that we can't compromise about.  Personal worthiness, for instance.  In general though, I think there is a huge need in our society for us to come together and talk about things and work together, even when we disagree.  But I think that finding solutions that work for everyone also requires thinking things out and knowing where we all are coming from, and not just picking a side and ignoring other perspectives, or trying not to take sides.

I think learning about other perspectives was a huge part of the atonement.  Christ, our perfect example, suffered for our sins, and in so doing, he actually felt what it was like to be each of us, in our shoes... to go through our pain and experience what it is like to be us.  We don't have to go through the same thing, but learning what it is like for other people is part of what we need to learn on this earth, and one of the ways that we learn to love people who are different than we are.

Today, let's think.  Let's learn enough about things to know what we think and where we stand.  Let's learn what other people think, and let's especially learn what God thinks, and how we feel about that.  We have to have an opinion and know what these issues are about before God can teach us more and help us understand some of it.  Even if we don't agree with God on something, instead of just ignoring it, let's study it, and learn about it, and then we can talk to him about it and figure it out.  Let's be opinionated, but always open and willing to learn and change. :)