The Folly of Assumptions~

 With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools~ Job 12:16-17 ESV

Over the past weeks Americans have had a front row seat to a tragedy. The details of the heartbreak have unfolded on television screens across the country. I’m talking about the George Zimmerman trial. After following the trial closely on television I have come to three broad conclusions regarding this whole mess…

George Zimmerman behaved foolishly

Trayvon Martin responded impulsively

Nobody is a winner

This tragedy is one of those truly miserable situations when everybody involved has lost something incredibly precious. Trayvon has lost the opportunity to grow into a better, more levelheaded man; his parents have lost the privilege of witnessing that process; and Zimmerman and his family have lost the God-given right to a life of safety and anonymity.

I will not waste your time airing my opinions concerning the particulars of this trial or the state of race relations in America. Enough fools have done that and I am convinced we are not better people for it. My hope today is to bring to light a tendency that has been highlighted in the aftermath of this trial: the inclination we have to make assumptions and judge the motivations of people. Making assumptions about motives and rooting out evil intent has become a 21^st century witch-hunt.

Many are making the assumption that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin because he is a racist monster. There is no proof of that pre-supposition—just a lot of really strong feelings.

The Zimmerman case is dramatic but not unique. Every day, all over the world, marriages, churches, business relationships, friendships and reputations have been and are in the process of being ruined by runaway assumptions. Many have gotten into the ugly habit of arrogantly assuming to know what someone was thinking or intending. For any finite human being to believe that they have the ability to discern the inner workings of another’s heart or mind is pride and folly on the highest possible level.

The word assumption has several meanings:

Something taken for granted

Belief without proof

An unproved starting point

There is an old adage that my Dad is rather fond of that explains what you will make of yourself if you make assumptions. My Dad’s sayings are always colorful and generally quite accurate, but seldom G-rated, so I will refigure his proverb for a more general audience:

“We make fools out of ourselves when we choose to assume.”

 Assumptions do much more than make the assumer look foolish; unchecked assumptions have the power to ruin people. The poor Shmuck who has been labeled as a hater and accused of sinister motives or evil intent is put in a position where it is impossible to prove that they are not the person they have been accused of being. It is simply not possible for one to put their heart on display and prove that they did not intend what people have assumed.

 Making assumptions about people and situations is not always born out of evil. It can simply be a bad habit born out of laziness, an unwillingness to communicate or just plain pride. There are five commitments we can make that will prevent us from falling into this dangerous and foolish trap…

 Assume good intent~ Philippians 4:8

Most people are not evil. Sometimes, people are just stupid or thoughtless or having a bad day. It’s in everybody’s best interest to choose to believe that people do not intend to hurt our feelings or deliberately cause us problems. We need to give people a break and assume good intentions rather than sinister motives. This is especially true concerning words; most folks just say stupid stuff of the cuff. They rarely mean it in the most horrible way it can be taken.

Be a grown-up~ Matthew 18:15

If someone hurts or offends you, you can do one of three things: You can have a mature, level-headed conversation with them about it, you can take the truly Christ-like path and choose to forget about it, or you can develop an opinion based on your feelings and limited understanding of reality. If you choose the latter you will inevitably end up spreading pain and hurt rather than grace and truth.

Get the facts~ Acts 19:36

This is particularly important when dealing with cases that end up on television. Most television news coverage is like town gossip: news outlets tend to share only the juiciest bits of information and leave the listener to fill in the blanks with suppositions and assumptions. Resist the temptation to form beliefs based on outward appearances and miniscule pieces of information rather than the whole story.

Use past behavior as an indicator of intent~ Proverbs 12:16

People make mistakes and have bad days. If someone has a history of being good and decent and they say or do something reckless or selfish it is in the best interest of healthy relationships to assume that they were having an off day. No one should be punished for having an off day. 

Let God be the judge of the human heart~ Samuel 16:7

Humans can (and sometimes should) make judgments about outward behavior, but judging motivations and intentions is God’s business and God’s business alone. He is the only one who is really capable of getting those judgments right. When we try to take over God’s job we open ourselves up for all kinds of spiritual and life consequences (Galatians 6:7). A key aspect of living a life of faith is holding firm to the conviction that God will deal with people in the way that they truly deserve in His time and in His way (Hebrews 4:13).

Assumptions are more than just regrettable lapses of judgment or a fun way to pass the time. Assumptions are foolish and unfair speculations that have the power to destroy. Enough lives, churches, businesses, reputations and relationships have been ruined by crazy, baseless conjectures. It’s time to end the madness. It’s time to stop judging people for thoughts and intentions they may or may not have. As believers it is our responsibility to spread peace and bring sanity to our fallen world. One tangible way we can do that is to model a life of believing the best in others and leaving the judging of intentions to God.

 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification~ Romans 14:19