I was reading Luke 18. Verses 35-43 were written about the blind man who received his sight. He was sitting by the roadside begging. He heard a commotion and asked what was happening.

When they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” They told him to be quiet. Yet he cried out all the more. Verse 40 says, “So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him…”

Verse 41 says, “…What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus’ question reminded me of when God asked Solomon what he wanted Him to give him. Verse 41 says, “…Lord, that I may receive my sight.” Immediately he received his sight. Do you cry out to the Lord in desperation?

Psalm 34:6 says, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” I love Jeremiah 33:3. It says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

Opinions are biased beliefs that may not be founded in absolute truth. They can be mindsets that keep us bound through inner personal laws. Wisdom, on the other hand, is from above. We are not born with it. It is imparted to us as we ask the One who is All Wise.

The Lord appeared to King Solomon in a dream by night. In 1 Kings 3:5 He said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” Solomon asked for an understanding heart, so he could discern between good and evil. 

Verse 12 says, “Behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.” What a gift!

Why would we rely on another’s opinion, or our own, when we can receive His gift of wisdom by asking. What one thing would you ask for if the Lord asked ‘What shall I give you?’ I would ask for intimate communion with Him that nothing on this earth could rival.

The last phrase in Romans 12:16 says, “…Do not be wise in your own opinion.” That takes me back to Proverbs 3:7. It is a verse I declare to the Lord like this every day. “I delight to not be wise in my own eyes, but to fear You, and depart from doing anything in my own strength.”

The verse says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.” Look at the promise in verse 8. It says, “It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.”

As I think about the word opinion, I can hear my dad say, “Convince a woman against her will, she will be of the same opinion still.” 

We know from Colossians 3:3 that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him. In James 1:5 He bids us to ask Him for wisdom, and He will give it to us freely. Opinions come from our own perspective of things. His wisdom allows us to see our life’s circumstances through His perspective ~ eternal wisdom.

Proverbs 11:3 says, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.” Proverbs 22:24-25 says, “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.”

Proverbs 9:9 says, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs 1:5 in the Amplified says, “The wise also will hear and increase in learning, and the person of understanding will acquire skill and attain to sound counsel (so that he may be able to steer his course rightly)”

Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with wise men will be wise.” Let’s seek the companionship of those who walk in His wisdom. James 3:18. It says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” The qualities of His wisdom are never found in one who walks in pride.

The last phrase in Romans 12:16 says, “…associate with the humble.” James 3:13 in the Amplified says, “Who is there among you who is wise and intelligent? Then let him by his noble living show forth his (good) works with the (unobtrusive) humility (which is the proper attribute) of true wisdom.”

Verse 18 says, “And the harvest of righteousness (of conformity to God’s will in thought and deed) is (the fruit of the seed) sown in peace by those who work for and make peace (in themselves and in others, that peace which means concord, agreement, and harmony between individuals…”

In high school I heard a definition of fellowship: two men in a boat rowing together toward the same shore. Hang out with others ~ same goal to honor the Lord in every aspect.

1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Galatians 6:3 nails self to the cross. Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Verse 7 says, “But made Himself of no reputation…” Verse 8 says, “…He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

All sin is pride based. James 4:6 says, “…God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Resist means to stand against. Picture it like the Lord laying one obstacle after another in front of you. 

Proverbs is full of verses about the proud. Proverbs 13:10 says, “By pride comes nothing but strife…” In Proverbs 8 wisdom was speaking. Verse 13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”

Mindsets are like houses of established thoughts. They determine our actions and attitudes. Prejudice is a mindset. God is not a respecter of persons. When we align our core beliefs with the truths of Scripture, our thoughts, actions, and attitudes will please the Lord.

Romans 12:16 says, “…Do not set your mind on high things…” 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…” A high thing is pride in self-effort.

As I meditated on high things, my mind went back to Isaiah 57:15. It says, “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in a high and holy place…”

Let’s add Colossians 3:2. It says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Pride is satan’s weapon to entrap us. Lucifer fell from heaven. Isaiah 14:14 says, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”

As we continually renew our minds from the truths of God’s word, we will thwart the enemy’s plans to entrap us in pride through the lure of self. Anything that we do apart from God is rooted in self-reliance. Galatians 6:3 says, “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Philippians 2:2 says, “Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

1 Peter 1:22 says, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.” Sincere means without hypocrisy or pretense.

I have a new mentee that lives in another country. She asked me to not judge her or pity her. She wants me to accept her as she is. Living in harmony requires us to not judge. Matthew 7:1 warns us, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” Romans 2:1 says that when we judge we are condemning ourselves because we practice the same things.

Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Titus 3:2 says, “To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”

I started to meditate on Romans 12:16. It says, “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” As I was considering ‘of the same mind’ I thought of Acts 1:15. It says that there were about 120 in the upper room.

Verse 14 says, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” Now in my imagination, I have always wondered about this gathering.

During their time together praying, did the Holy Spirit bring up unresolved issues? Remember in Matthew 20 the mother of James and John asked Jesus to favor them. Verse 24 says, “And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.” Did they still carry an offense?

With one accord means: being unanimous, having mutual consent, being in agreement, having group unity, having one mind and purpose. That is a perfect description of what it means to live in harmony.

Hebrews 11:25 in the Amplified says of Moses, “(Motivated) by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him who is invisible.”

We are in a race. Hebrews 12:1 in the Amplified says, “…let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us…”

1 Peter 1:13-14 says, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind…as obedient children, not conforming yourselves in the former lusts…” Romans 12:2 says to not be conformed to this world’s ways.

The enemy of our soul looks for chinks in our armor. Unresolved issues are past tense. Remember, five minutes ago is our past. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that old things have passed away. Our past is passed. It cannot be changed. Paul set us an example. Philippians 3:13 says, “…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward…” Faith in action is proactive.