Why do opinions vary?

Have you ever wondered why opinions vary? OK – Probably not, but I have. I mean how are opinions formed and why do they vary so much? How come everyone just does not have the same opinion about everything? If everyone shared the same opinion, wars could be avoided, divorce would be a thing of the past, families would stay together, and friends would not beat each other up.

Hmmm I have deduced that opinions are formed as a result of what we have learned in our lives combined with our intellect and deductive prowess.

In that regard I was amazed at how much I forgot by the time I started getting some serious age on me. I thought I knew everything for most of my life, but alas the older I get the more I realize how little I know. How could I forget so much? I noticed the same thing about my sons. They knew everything by the time they were teenagers and then almost overnight started forgetting all of that valuable knowledge. Do you know any teenagers like that?

I absolutely love the book of Proverbs. The Bible tells us that in spite of some of his faults old King Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest man the world will ever know. He spent some serious time writing and recording proverbs for us to peruse and help us with our lives, and each one can stimulate some serious thought. I highly recommend that you spend some time in this amazing book each day.

King Solomon had quite a bit to say about listening to advice. I told a friend the other day about the first encounter I had with a non-family board member. Our businesses always had family members, (my wife and sons), as our board of directors and board meetings were more in the order of I would look in the mirror and ask myself if I thought that perhaps this or that action was justified and I would nod yes to myself and the meeting was adjourned.

One time I got in a jam with one of my companies and was in need of cash and took in an outside investor, (from a public company no less). Suddenly our board meetings radically changed. We all sat around a table and this guy looked at our company from every angle and asked tough questions and even dared challenge me on some stuff. At first I was very resentful and wanted to beat him up, but as time went on I realized what a valuable addition this man was to our company. Those questions needed to be asked and our company improved dramatically because of him. You know what? I didn’t know everything gulp…

I can tell you that I listen more now than I did as a youngster and it is amazing what I learn from it. God gave us two eyes, two ears, and just one mouth. Is the lesson here that we should look and listen four times as much as we talk?

Proverbs 9: 8
Do not correct a scoffer, lest he
hate you;
Rebuke a wise man and he will
love you.
Give instruction to a wise man
and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will
increase in learning.