I can't stop thinking about the bathroom scale. Step on it, dislike the number, argue with it, move it three inches to the left, try again. At some point, arguing with the scale doesn't change anything, because the scale was never there to agree with me. It's there to measure me. That's exactly what Scripture does and it's exactly what I tend to resist.
This week’s sermon reminded me just how quickly opinions start shaping my day. Some of them reach me before I’ve even finished my morning espresso! The group chat has one. The comment section definitely has one. Cable news, talk radio and my favorite podcast host. Everybody's got a hot take and I'm about three clicks from becoming an expert on any of it myself. None of that makes opinions bad. Proverbs 11:14 actually tells us there's safety in many advisers. We need wisdom, experience, people who see what we can't. The trouble starts when an opinion, mine or somebody else's, quietly gets promoted to authority.
Proverbs 18:2 stops me in my tracks. "Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions." I don't love how often that describes me in an argument. Proverbs 14:12 is even worse, because it doesn't say the wrong path looks wrong. It says it seems right. I can be sincere, confident and still be building on sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Both houses look fine until the storm shows up and at that point the foundation is the only thing that matters.
The two questions I have been wrestling with this week are simple but challenging. Am I asking, “Does Scripture agree with me?” or am I asking, “Does my life agree with Scripture?” Those may sound similar, but they come from two very different places. One puts me in the position of authority. The other puts Scripture there.
What's actually shaping your life, shaping your parenting, shaping your marriage, shaping your view of money, or your politics? Is it Scripture or something that has been quietly standing in for it?
Questions to Process
- Where have I let a strongly-held opinion, mine, a parent's, a culture's, function as authority in my life without ever testing it against Scripture?
- Which of the common sayings from this week ("follow your heart," "God just wants me happy," "that's just who I am," etc.) have I treated as biblical truth without checking?
- Am I currently building something, a decision, a relationship, a habit, on sand that looks fine right now but hasn't been tested by a storm yet?
- When I read a hard passage of Scripture, is my first instinct "Do I agree with this?" or "Does my life need to change to agree with this?"
- What's one area of my life right now where I need to let Scripture measure me instead of arguing with the biblical truth?
Questions for Discussion
- What are some of the "everybody knows" sayings our culture treats as gospel truth that don't actually hold up against Scripture?
- Why do you think sincerity and confidence aren't reliable indicators that we're on the right path (Proverbs 14:12)?
- Talk about a time advice or an opinion you trusted turned out to be wrong, or changed over time. What does that reveal about giving opinions final authority?
- In Luke 24, Jesus points the disciples to Scripture instead of simply revealing Himself. Why do you think He does that and what does it teach us about how He wants us to know truth?
- As a group, where are we most tempted to ask "Does Scripture agree with me?" instead of "Does my life agree with Scripture?" What would it look like to flip that question this week?