Presumption

[Guest eyesnowopen]

It amazes me how anyone can be arrogant enough to think that they know what is going on inside the heart of another person.

[Zadok Rox]

Sadly, alot of us (including myself) are guilty of this. We seem to go by the old adage "If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck,...".

[poorinspirit]

It amazes me how anyone can be arrogant enough to think that they know what is going on inside the heart of another person.

Do you have an example without naming names?

I do sometimes wonder if such incidents are not derived from what the person has said that would lead a person to respond on what the person has said by sharing scriptures on what was said so that the person that said it may consider all the ramification of what he or she had said so as to correct their speech to clarify what they had meant to say.

More often times than not, we say not what we really mean which would lead to responses on what was said to be offensive, but in truth, it is not so much on the person saying it as it is on what was said.

Psalm 19: 14Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Psalm 50: 23Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

Matthew 12: 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

1 Timothy 6: 12Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

2 Timothy 4: 6For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Anyway, not sure what incident you are referring to, but I can understand why a person would react to what was said so that the fellow believer may take heed to what was said and correct his/her conversation so that his or her words reflect the faith in Christ by their testimony to have a good profession.

[luckylexy]

It amazes me how anyone can be arrogant enough to think that they know what is going on inside the heart of another person.

I agree. God made us all so unique and special. I don't even know my own heart completely, let alone the heart of another. I think the danger here begins when we start thinking on an egocentric level. We each like to think that we have some rare knowledge and insight that no one else has ever conceived of. We become so convinced of the supposed value of our little musings, that we feel compelled to show it off by judging others. We presume a base of intentions in someone's heart, based on our "superior" thinking. We are so sure that we know exactly what they are doing and why...

As the old saying goes (and I will quote this wrong, I'm sure, because I'm terrible at remembering how it goes): You never really know another man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. We are not omniscient. Thinking that we are, or that we could be, or should be, is buying into the same lie that Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

We need to remember our humanity: our uniqueness, our beauty, our failings, our desperate need for a Saviour. In these things we are alike. Knowing this can help us to have a little more compassion...

I have a complicated story, which you know a bit of from our convo. a couple days ago. Having people judge me and make false assumptions has really helped to think of the error in my own ways in this area. We can look at the facts of someone's situations or actions, and can think that we know exactly what is going on. But, it rarely is what it seems.

I think we can each take a look at our own lives and remember a time when a presumption was made about us that really hurt. Examining this can help us come to the realization that our lives and our hearts look so much different on the outside than they do from the inside. So, when we see that homeless guy on the street corner, or that lady screaming at her child in the store, we can be sure that what we saw is not the complete reality, and not the person's heart. We are seeing a few puzzle pieces. Unless we know a person well, we have no business inserting some false pieces into the puzzle and then projecting our presumptions out into the open.

We can pray about these things... We can say to another person: I observed _____ and I have some concerns... Would you like to talk about what is going on? I think it is kinder to invite another to share their heart with us in this manner, rather than to presume.

Okay... I'm done now...lol Time to go check on my babies again :-)

Edited October 13, 2007 by luckylexy

[None]

Wow, that was beautiful, lucky.

[Guest HIS girl]

This kind of thing keeps people in bondage.

[Guest eyesnowopen]

It amazes me how anyone can be arrogant enough to think that they know what is going on inside the heart of another person.

I agree. God made us all so unique and special. I don't even know my own heart completely, let alone the heart of another. I think the danger here begins when we start thinking on an egocentric level. We each like to think that we have some rare knowledge and insight that no one else has ever conceived of. We become so convinced of the supposed value of our little musings, that we feel compelled to show it off by judging others. We presume a base of intentions in someone's heart, based on our "superior" thinking. We are so sure that we know exactly what they are doing and why...

As the old saying goes (and I will quote this wrong, I'm sure, because I'm terrible at remembering how it goes): You never really know another man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. We are not omniscient. Thinking that we are, or that we could be, or should be, is buying into the same lie that Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

We need to remember our humanity: our uniqueness, our beauty, our failings, our desperate need for a Saviour. In these things we are alike. Knowing this can help us to have a little more compassion...

I have a complicated story, which you know a bit of from our convo. a couple days ago. Having people judge me and make false assumptions has really helped to think of the error in my own ways in this area. We can look at the facts of someone's situations or actions, and can think that we know exactly what is going on. But, it rarely is what it seems.

I think we can each take a look at our own lives and remember a time when a presumption was made about us that really hurt. Examining this can help us come to the realization that our lives and our hearts look so much different on the outside than they do from the inside. So, when we see that homeless guy on the street corner, or that lady screaming at her child in the store, we can be sure that what we saw is not the complete reality, and not the person's heart. We are seeing a few puzzle pieces. Unless we know a person well, we have no business inserting some false pieces into the puzzle and then projecting our presumptions out into the open.

We can pray about these things... We can say to another person: I observed _____ and I have some concerns... Would you like to talk about what is going on? I think it is kinder to invite another to share their heart with us in this manner, rather than to presume.

Okay... I'm done now...lol Time to go check on my babies again :-)

Lexy, what you said about not even knowing your own heart,let alone the heart of another is so right on.I could read this and reread it and not hope to be able to take in all the wisdom it contains,you are such a blessing.I think about all the accusations that were made against Christ,It is a comfort to know that I can relate with the Original JC.

[Guest]

[EricH]

It amazes me how anyone can be arrogant enough to think that they know what is going on inside the heart of another person.

Sometimes it is not arrogance. People assume that others act based on the same motivations that they do. They think, "If I did that, this is what I would have intended".

[Guest eyesnowopen]

It amazes me how anyone can be arrogant enough to think that they know what is going on inside the heart of another person.

Sometimes it is not arrogance. People assume that others act based on the same motivations that they do. They think, "If I did that, this is what I would have intended".

EricH amen, that is exactly what I mean