Public opinion is something that matters very much to the political parties–so much so that they are very good at finding out what the people want and then feeding that desire. One encyclopedia defines public opinion as the aggregate–the sum total–of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Gone seem to be convicted politicians who stand for what they believe.
Influence is one of the outcomes of being in power. There has been so much manipulation in so many areas over a sustained period of time that those things that our fathers and forefathers thought were wrong are now accepted practice. For example, in Great Britain and many other parts in the world, the homosexual lobby has made such inroads on public opinion that the law is now on their side, and one can be prosecuted for quoting what God has to say on the matter. Abortion was abhorrent not all that long ago, but now is accepted practice. Foul and abusive language is commonplace in television programs, and now very few even bat an eyelid. The list continues. Public opinion has been so manipulated that standards of yesteryear are now thought of as old fashioned and that society has “moved on.”
Has this rubbed off on the people of God? I would think that the answer must be yes to one degree or another. We don’t live in a vacuum–and we have to live in this wayward society of ours. Someone once said that fashions may change but standards do not. Godly standards do NOT change although there are those who try to explain them away. God is very specific on this matter. Malachi 3:6 says: “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” Hebrews 13:8 explains: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” James 1:17 adds that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
The great God of the universe is constant in everything. He doesn’t change with public opinion as people try and bend Him into the shape that they want–and with which they are comfortable. Whichever direction public opinion takes should make absolutely no difference to our approach to the important issues of life. The knowledge of God and His ways are simply not known or understood, except by the very few. In the Kingdom of God, public opinion will not be influenced by that master of the black arts–Satan the devil–who is today the real source of forming and shaping the values of our society.
Once Jesus Christ has established God’s government here on earth, mankind will have to be taught God’s way, and a lifetime of absorbing Satan’s influences will have to be swept away out of the minds of billions of people. Public opinion then will be Godly and not manipulated in the wrong direction as it is today. Public opinion is of no use to us at all–it is the opinion and the way of God that matters. What we have to do is seek the will of God–not the will and opinion of society. Matthew 6:33 sums it up perfectly: “But seek first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness, and all these [physical] things shall be added to you.”
