Assumptions usually
get us into trouble. We understand the pitfalls of assuming all too well. We hear part of a conversation and assume it is about us. We witness an
altercation in the grocery store between a parent and child and assume the parent is short-tempered. We
tune in and out of a speaker’s message and then brood over something we assume he meant, when that wasn’t his
point at all. In my own life, the results of making assumptions have run the gamut
from mild embarrassment to neglect of an important task I assumed someone else was doing.
I distinctly
remember one unwise assumption in particular. Dick and I planned a rare evening
out, just the two of us. Assuming a certain
teen girl would be a good babysitter, simply because she attended our church,
showed poor judgment on my part. I found out later that she not only didn’t
change our son’s dirty diaper during the four hours we were gone, but she also enjoyed
half a bottle of wine while supposedly being “on the job”. We found her sound
asleep when we got home! I never made that kind of assumption again; I made
sure I asked other parents which babysitters they would recommend.
The Bible
shares many stories of God’s followers ending up in trouble because they assumed. Sarah assumed she was too old to bear a son and encouraged her husband to
have a child with her handmaiden. The Israelites assumed God had forgotten them and Moses wasn’t coming back to lead
them so they built the golden calf. The people of Jesus’ day rejected him
because they assumed their Messiah
would overthrow the Roman government.
The book of
Proverbs offers lots of good advice about assumptions:
“Don’t assume
that you know it all.” Proverbs 3:7
“Don't jump
to conclusions - there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just
saw.” Proverbs 25:8
“Don't shoot
off your mouth, or speak before you think.” Proverbs 29:20
It’s easy to fall
prey to our assumptions, but next time we are tempted to jump to conclusions,
let’s remember to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on
what you think you know.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Be encouraged,
Pam
©2016 Pamela D. Williams
