"We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are."
~ Anais Nin
Making assumptions can put us on a slippery slope - and it's not just because in doing so we tend to make a fool of ourselves. It's because assumptions really aren't God's heart at all.According to the Oxford American dictionary, an assumption is:a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.Nowhere in the definition does it say: it is truth.
Stepping Out Before God
An assumption forces us to take leaps God hasn't asked us to make. It's like acting on what we "think" to be true about situations or people, versus acting on what God's "heart" reveals as truth.
When we assume, we're likely walking in the sin of pride. We think we know what we really do not know. We mar the visage of God when we label or judge people in their innocence, ignorance, brokenness or misfortune. We leave no room for God to work and our assumptions say we're essentially lacking faith that He can or will. Like it or not, assuming unwittingly places ourselves in His shoes, crowds Him out and takes liberty with the future...of situations and the lives of people.It may be dark to the north of us but to assume it's going to rain may only later find us having missed out on a beautiful opportunity for a family picnic when God's command of the weather pushed those those storm clouds due east.God's perspective changes things.We could assume someone doesn't come around much because they don't have a heart for community or a heart to serve, but seen from God's perspective, we might realize they just never felt welcome.We could assume that someone doesn't like us by their delayed or lack of response to an e-mail, but seen from God's perspective, we might realize that we we're the sixty-third incoming communication they received that day and for the sake of their own family life and sanity, our e-mail had to go unanswered.We could assume that someone is a negligent parent by the actions of their child, but seen from God's perspective, we might realize they have incredible faith and know there comes a time when only God and His grace, not their own strength can draw a child's heart to change and turn a situation around.We could assume that people who don't forthrightly come up, look us in the eye, and say hello are "rude" and must not like us, but seen from God's perspective, we might realize that in their own nervous avoidance they didn't see us trying to make eye contact or our mouths softly forming the words "hello."The list goes on and on...
So, why is this even important?Because our assumptions inhibit others and belittle God.But truth is always seen from God's vantage point. And truth... brings the Light that "illuminates" others and "glorifies" God.
So what difference does it make who's a Jew and who isn't, who has been trained in God's ways and who hasn't? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—but not the difference so many have assumed. First, there's the matter of being put in charge of writing down and caring for God's revelation, these Holy Scriptures. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same:
Your words stand fast and true;Rejection doesn't faze you.
But if our wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God's rightdoing, shouldn't we be commended for helping out? Since our bad words don't even make a dent in his good words, isn't it wrong of God to back us to the wall and hold us to our word? These questions come up. The answer to such questions is no, a most emphatic No! How else would things ever get straightened out if God didn't do the straightening?Romans 3:1-6 The MSG
Gina Higgins
