The Sin of Making Assumptions

How many times have we seen it happened? An assumption made about a person that ends up causing problems but then turns out to be false. Or an assumption made based on what someone said. We have all witnessed these situations or even been part of it.

Truth be told, it is very easy to make assumptions without even realizing it. We have the propensity to make assumptions based on appearances, things said, things seen, from what we hear, and incomplete statements.

And we do it on a daily basis; a man parks on a handicap spot but when he gets out of the car he doesn’t look disabled so we assume he’s just a jerk. We encounter a woman who receives an unemployment check and we assume that she’s lazy and doesn’t want to work. Or we see an overweight woman at the grocery store and assume she’s a glutton who can’t control what she eats. And who knows, maybe the man who parked on the handicap spot has a prosthetic leg because he lost his in an accident. The woman with the unemployment was recently laid-off and is struggling to find another job. And the overweight lady has hypothyroidism. 

There are many ways to make assumptions but just because it’s a human tendency does not mean that we should continue giving in to it.

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Have you ever realized that making assumptions about others reveals more about what’s in your heart than it does about the other person? They reflect us, it uncovers what’s inside of us. 

It’s the evil nature of our being that prompts us to be quick to assume the worse of others. Why? Because the pride of the flesh wants to make the self-feel and look “better” by thinking bad about others. This is very dangerous because it can and will lead to self-righteousness. 

[bctt tweet=”Making an assumption reveals more about what’s in our hearts than it does about the other person. ” username=”TheScribe_Blog”]

Other times we even act as if we had some psychic powers- reading other’s minds and hearts. I am so SURE that the lady at the bank was trying to make me mad on purpose. Or I just KNOW Anna was referring to me when she said that many people are ignorant. More often than not these assumptions are unfounded; figments of our imaginations. 

See, the thing about making assumptions is that we get worked up for nothing.  And we don’t get anything good in return.

But what really adds fuel to the fire is when we go about gossiping about it. This is how rumors get started. What we know about rumors is that most are untrue. 

So far, we have looked at how assumptions open the door to self-righteousness, gossip, bitterness and fuels pride and anger. 

Now, let’s read about similar instances found in Scripture. Acts 2:7-17 tells the story of the day of Pentecost. The disciples had been baptized with the Holy Spirit for the first time. When the people heard them speaking in different tongues, they assumed that they were drunk. This is an example of making assumptions based on what they saw. Scripture clearly warns us not to make assumptions or judgments on what we see.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24, KJV) 

Making assumptions also causes us to jump to conclusions before knowing the whole story. And as we know far too well, this never leads to anything good. But it is SO human to do this that Scripture addresses this problem.

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. (Proverbs 18:13)

I believe that in all cases, it does us good to give every person the benefit of the doubt. It is something I learned early on when I realized that not everything is as it appears. Even if some may call me naive or dumb because I like to see and think the best of everyone, I’d rather be right with God and please Him than please others. God has commanded us to do good to others and love them. Staying away from making wrong judgments is just the beginning to loving our neighbors. 

Plus, I never knew anyone who regretted thinking the best of others, but I do know of many who regret making false assumptions. 

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