Everyone has an opinion. But not all opinions are equal. And we must carefully decide who we allow to speak into our life, and on what issues. Not everyone is a qualified authority to speak on every issue.
Generally speaking, doctors are trusted with the practice of medicine and lawyers with the practice of law. And regardless of how smart a lawyer might be, we likely won’t trust him to do open heart surgery. This is simply not his area of expertise.
But all too often we give authority to those not qualified to speak into our life.
For instance, this is taking to heart someone’s anonymous criticism online. While we’ve never met the person and they’re likely just trolling, we allow their negativity to curse us and ruin our day.
It also takes place when we allow public figures to tell us what to think about and how to think about it.
And perhaps also when we accept every piece of advice from well-meaning friends and family on marriage, parenting, money and the like.
While some are out to get us and others simply have their own agendas, many are truly well-intentioned in trying to do right by us.
But regardless of their motives, we still must discern if they’re qualified to speak on certain issues.
Even our best friend, for example, might not be the best person to get money advice from. We don’t love him any less. But it’s important to use wisdom in deciding who we listen to on certain matters.
We only hurt ourselves in the long run when we treat all opinions as equal. Both literally and figuratively, heart surgery should be reserved for qualified authorities only.
Consider very carefully who you allow to speak to what issues in your life. Not everyone is qualified to speak where it matters the most.
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