Well, putting that saying aside, here are my thoughts
about making assumptions.
First of all, let me say that I learn many life lessons by
observing things I see in nature. Some people may find this a bit quirky; perhaps
it is. However, I see it as a precious gift from the Creator, who is the
mastermind of all created things.
One hot summer day, I was mowing our grass and I observed odd
behaviors by a bunch of barn swallows. I was mowing with what I consider to be a
big tractor, and I was on a long, flat stretch of grass. I witnessed many barn
swallows diving down at the tractor. This happened over, and over, and over
again. My first reaction was one of confusion. What am I doing that is
upsetting to these birds? What am I disrupting in their environment? Are they
protesting in anger because I'm cutting the grass? Should I protect myself?
The more I observed them, the more I realized what was
happening. As I mowed, I was kicking up flying insects, and the barn swallows
were going after a tasty snack. So, my perception was completely wrong. They
weren’t dive bombing the tractor at all. None of us were doing anything wrong.
We were all just doing what we needed to do.
So often in life, we make assumptions and misinterpret people's
actions and intentions. We read into things that aren’t there. We judge someone
for their confidence and call it arrogance. We are offended because someone didn’t
greet us, when the person never even saw us. We make gross generalizations about a people
group based on one person’s behavior. We overthink a conversation and make
assumptions about what the person was thinking or trying to say.
Assumptions are usually negative. Did you ever think about
that? Assumptions are made with incomplete information, misreading a situation,
and having a bent towards negativity.
Here is my challenge to all of us, myself included. Let’s
practice wisely addressing things that need to be addressed, clear up miscommunication,
perceptions, and intentions. Let’s use our God-given intuition to sensibly clarify
and bring resolution so we can avoid being entrapped by the snares of assumption...
judgment, hurts, and offense. Let’s give a person the benefit of the doubt if
we don’t know firsthand about an allegation. Or if someone says or does something
that is slightly hurtful, let’s take a step back and look at the whole picture.
Perhaps we can offer grace and not receive the words/mannerisms as off-putting,
personal rejection.
And you know what? Maybe we aren’t perceiving the situation
clearly because we have neglected to clean the lenses we are looking through of
past contaminants, such as rejection, shame, and abandonment.
As you examine a current difficult situation in your life, perhaps those “barn swallows” aren’t attacking you at all; maybe they are just doing what they need to do. Maybe it’s time to test your assumptions.
