“But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.   When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.   But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.”  Acts 28:3-6

My wife and I were recently on vacation and decided to stop for dessert after while walking back to our hotel from a craft fair.  The dinner rush had passed, but there were still a few stragglers entering the restaurant for a meal.   After being seated, we waited an unusually long time without being acknowledged by a server…long enough that the couple in the next booth who had been seated after us had already received their drinks.  Slightly irritated at the lack of service, I suggested that if we weren’t acknowledged in the next five minutes, we should just go back to the hotel.  Our waitress finally showed up just before we were ready to leave and seemed less than enthusiastic about serving us.  However, she apologized and explained that a tourist had come out of the ladies’ room and hit our server’s nose with her elbow causing intense pain.  What we had assumed to be poor service was in actuality something entirely different.  Having heard the explanation, our demeanor quickly changed from frustration to concern.  That’s the problem with assumptions, just because we have a little information, doesn’t mean that we know the truth of the matter.

We see this as well in Acts 28.  As Paul was being transported along with other prisoners to Rome, they became shipwrecked and landed on Malta.  In a very short period of time, the public opinion with respect to Paul had moved from just another prisoner to a murderer to a god based mostly on assumptions resulting from limited information.  He had committed no crimes against man, but was rather was a prisoner because of his faith and work for the Kingdom of Heaven.  Despite having persecuted the church, he was not legally a murderer.  He certainly was not a god.  Rather, he was a servant of our Lord who through trying circumstances and the power of the Holy Spirit was given the opportunity minister to the people of the island.  The apostle Paul was completely misread by the inhabitants of Malta.   Whether or not we realize it, we have a tendency to do the same with respect to others, God and ourselves.

Our impressions of people and circumstances are rarely completely accurate.  Take for instance a job interview; both the prospective employer and the interviewee present their best image while hiding or minimalizing any factors that might lower their desirability in the eyes of the other party.  Similarly, most folks show up to church with a smile on their face and don’t bring up the argument that they had on the way to church, the sin that they can’t seem to overcome or the problem that is causing them to lose sleep.  Like our server, people are often misjudged for not being as helpful or committed to an activity as social protocol would deem appropriate.  There are often circumstances that are undisclosed as a matter of privacy, preferring not to have to explain, the potential for rumors or a lack of relationship.  There may also events in a person’s past that cause them to react in a way that we don’t understand.  We also need to recognize that there are times that we misread a person’s character or behavior because of our own background or biases.  Consequently, the limited facts coupled with the desire to understand leads to assumptions that form opinions.  No matter how much time we spend with someone, we will never know them completely; only God knows us that well.  That said, our response should be to follow Christ’s example of truth in love.   This may be simple kindness, sharing the gospel or encouragement.  With a deeper relationship it may mean teaching from scripture, privately and gently correcting, or mentoring.  In all cases, we should seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, be slow to take offense, quick to offer grace, committed to the truth of scripture and refrain from gossip.

We often misread God as well.  When God does what we request, we are filled with hope and happiness.  However, when we find ourselves in difficult times with outcomes that we contrary to our prayers, we are tempted to doubt His love for us and His promises.  Through the teaching of Christ and the complete canon of scripture, we know much about God, His character, His requirements and His immense love for us.  However, we don’t know everything.  As Romans 11:33 and passages like it remind us, we are incapable of comprehending all that God knows and does.  Our minds just can’t handle it all.  Throughout scripture we see God putting people in difficult situations to accomplish His will.  As Hebrews 11 points out, they fulfilled the will of God through faith.  Rather than acting on their doubts by challenging or questioning God, they chose to obediently serve Him in faith.  They had faith in God’s character, His ability, His love and His promises both for this life and the next.  They didn’t require God to explain Himself or question the love in His plan.  Rather, they chose to obey even if it meant the loss off everything in this world including their lives.  If we truly love our God, we will do the same and obey in faith despite our doubts and fears remembering that we live to serve our Lord and to enjoy Him.

We may misinterpret the actions of others or doubt God, but surely we know ourselves and our circumstances completely.   I truly doubt that we do.  When faced with a task, do we honestly evaluate the difference between laziness, inability, lack of opportunity, or circumstances beyond our control when we opt out?  Do we completely understand why we respond in a certain way to particular circumstances or are there things in our past and our emotional state that are contrary to what we know to be true logically?  Do we have full awareness of the spiritual battles that involve us?  And finally, are we so devoted to God and so in touch with the Holy Spirit that we consistently follow His leading?  The apostle Paul says of himself: “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:21-24) Are we not the same?  We do things that we don’t want to and react in ways that are unbecoming, but have no idea why. In times of great obedience we feel so close to God but when we fail, we feel so far away.  However, God is always with us working for our good…perfecting and refining us.  As we consider our own actions…especially our failures, we do well to: recognize our weakness, draw near to God, repent of our shortcoming s, accept His grace, and allow the truth of God and the Holy Spirit to confront us and guide us so that we become more and more like Christ.

Our encounter with the server not only ended with concern and great service, but she hugged and kissed my wife and I before we left.   For our part, we went back to the restaurant again before leaving town and requested one of her tables so that we could check on her.  It was a much better outcome than where our assumptions would have taken us.  I have often been misunderstood and I suspect that you have as well.  That fact should help us to be less judgmental and more loving.   In all of our experiences of life, we need to look to the Holy Spirit to guide our words and our actions.  With respect to others, we love well and gently share the truth of God as we interact with them.  We lovingly respond to God with faith and obedience understanding that His judgments and His ways are far beyond our ability to comprehend.  As we seek to be good ambassadors for God, we accept His grace and allow His truth and the power of the Holy Spirit to help us overcome the things that we don’t understand about ourselves.  Assumptions regularly yield an inaccurate assessment leading to further complication, however, the love combined with God’s truth leads to kindness and blessing.

With all humility, gentleness, and patience show tolerance for one another in love to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Will