RELATIONSHIPS
It’s easy to believe the worst about others. But we don’t know people’s hearts. What does the Bible advise about giving the benefit of the doubt?
Giving the Benefit of the W
e can’t really know what people are thinking. We can’t read their motivations or intentions. But often we feel the need to try to figure those things out from the clues we see and hear. We feel we need to know how to protect ourselves if someone is out to get us or wants to take advantage of us. For many of us, it is easy to assume the worst in others. And perhaps it seems we aren’t often wrong. Most people don’t have our best interests at heart—they and we are usually focused on our own best interests. And believing the best about others can make you seem naïve, unrealistic—what some might disparagingly call a Pollyanna. Is assuming the worst always the best approach? What does the Bible say about assuming the worst vs. giving others the benefit of the doubt?
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DISCERN
What are the results of each of these choices? Let’s consider some examples.
Example of assuming the worst
The book of Job is one of the most challenging books in the Bible, with deep and thought-provoking lessons. But it also has a story and lessons that jump out at you. For example, consider the big gap between how God describes Job and how his three “friends” describe him. God says Job is a “blameless and upright man,” but his three friends pile up chapter after chapter of accusations against Job. They figured Job must have done terrible things but was just hiding them. Here are some of the things Eliphaz attributed to Job:
November/December 2020
