Faulty Assumptions

"The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?"
Obadiah 1:3 KJV

A traveler at an airport went to one of the little shops and bought a small package of cookies to eat while reading a newspaper, waiting for their flight. Gradually, she became aware of a rustling noise. Looking from behind her paper, she was flabbergasted to see a neatly dressed man helping himself to her cookies. Not wanting to make a scene, she leaned over and took a cookie herself.

A minute or two passed, and then she heard more rustling. He was helping himself to another cookie! By this time, they had come to the end of the package. She was angry, but didn't dare allow herself to say anything. Then, as if to add insult to injury, the man broke the remaining cookie in two, pushed half across to her, ate the other half, and left.

Still fuming later when her flight was announced, the woman opened her handbag to get her ticket. To her shock and embarrassment, there was her pack of unopened cookies!

It's so easy to make assumptions about what is happening around us. We expect things to be a certain way based on past experience, what we know, or have been told about a situation. Assumptions are not always wrong, but they are never to be trusted. Too many times they lead to embarrassment and even destruction.

The Bible tells us that assumption is based on human reasoning and the driving force behind it is pride. As the verse above say, it is pride - we think we know everything - which allows us to be deceived.

Pride caused the woman in this story to assume she was right and the gentleman was wrong. Instead of seeing him through God's eyes and praying for wisdom to handle the situation God's way, she ignored the man. In the end, she was completely blind to his kindness toward her.

When you find yourself in a conflict with others, avoid prideful assumptions by walking in God's love. See other people and situations through His eyes. After all, your vision is limited, but He knows exactly what's going on!