10/28/2022
We make dozens of assumptions every day.
In fact, it would be difficult to function if you couldn’t make assumptions about weather, traffic, food, work, and relationships. Many of our assumptions are harmless, many are necessary (like assuming that gravity will continue to keep our feet on the ground as we walk).
On the other hand, assumptions can also be wrong and harmful, causing us to react in ways that have negative effects. For example, when we see a young person with pink hair and dressed in black do we assume he’s into drugs only to find out later he’s heavily involved in a Christian college ministry team?
It happens all the time, which is why it’s important to recognize that some assumptions can be harmful and get us into trouble, and we need to get the facts before jumping to conclusions. In this way, we can act more wisely and avoid hurting ourselves and others.
How do assumptions hurt people? What is the danger of making assumptions?
1 SAMUEL 1:12-16
As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”
Sometimes an assumption presumes to know an answer before a question is asked. Assumptions are often unfair, because they judge another person before the facts are known.
JOB 11:13-14
If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you.
Sometimes an assumption asks the right question but jumps too quickly to the wrong answer. In this case, Job’s friends couldn’t explain why Job was suffering, so they assumed he had sinned and brought God’s punishment on himself. They were asking the right question – why? – but coming up with the wrong answer.
ISAIAH 55:8
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
Our natural assumptions rarely align themselves with the way God thinks. If you want to understand how God acts, you must work to understand how he thinks. GENESIS 43:18
The brothers were terrified when they saw that they were being taken into Joseph’s house. “It’s because of the money someone put in our sacks last time we were here,” they said. “He plans to pretend that we stole it. Then he will seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”
2 SAMUEL 10:3
The Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”
Fear can cause us to assume the worst about people and their intentions. If we consistently assume the worst about others we will become suspicious and paranoid. We will also hurt others as we try to keep them away from us.
PROVERBS 25:8
Don’t be in a hurry to go to court. For what will you do in the end if your neighbor deals you a shameful defeat?
Assumptions are often made too quickly. There is an old saying, “Haste makes waste.” When you are too quick to judge before having all the information, you make poor decisions that you later regret.
GENESIS 18:12
So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”
Assumptions made from a human viewpoint lead to actions made only from a human viewpoint, and can close the door to God’s miracles in your life. When you are open to the possibilities of God working in your life, you begin to see his work around you more clearly.
God promises to work in your life, but you must see your life from his perspective or else you will be blind to what he is doing in you and through you.
JOB 10:13-14
Yet your real motive— your true intent— was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my guilt.
ECCLESIASTES 10:13
Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions, so their conclusions will be wicked madness.
Wrong assumptions lead to wrong conclusions. And wrong conclusions lead to wrong actions.
1 TIMOTHY 1:4
Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees.
These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.
Wrong assumptions can lead to arguments and even threaten our relationships with others. When we assume we are right, we also assume the other person is wrong, so we set out to prove our rightness and their wrongness.
This puts us in the dangerous position of judging others, and ascribing guilt to someone who might not be guilty. It also makes us look foolish when our assumptions prove incorrect.
ACTS 9:13
“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!”
JONAH 3:10–4:2
When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he had mercy on them and didn’t carry out the destruction he had threatened . . . This change of plans upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it:
Sometimes an assumption causes you to give up on people instead of seeing them through God’s eyes. Jonah assumed that the Ninevites could never be saved. When you judge others spiritually, you doubt that Almighty God has the power to change lives.
ACTS 7:25
Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.
Sometimes an assumption can cause misunderstandings that damage relationships. If an assumption begins with a flawed premise, it will surely lead to a flawed conclusion.
