In fact, every post is. Because there is simply no possible way to ever include all the information. Even book authors who publish several hundred page books will tell you this. Many authors have to cull pages and pages from their books in order to fit the desired outcome.
And truly, that’s part of the beauty of life, isn’t it?
There’s always more to add. Always more to the story. Always more experiences and perspectives. Always more explanations and conversations to be had.
A few years ago, I memorized 1 Corinthians 13 with the kids. I’m always struck by the fact that Scripture impacts me differently as I get older. Not more, or less, necessarily. But differently.
As we memorized the chapter, the part that hit me the hardest was the part that says “love believes all things.”
I really chewed on this idea for several days and finally realized the sad truth that my personal inclination is to believe the worst about a person, and that that is actually….sinful.
I couldn’t get out of my head the idea that assuming the worst about what someone said, assuming their motives were poor, assuming they meant harm, not giving them grace or the benefit of the doubt, was actually a sin.
It wasn’t just “part of my personality” even though it felt natural to me. It was actually an offense to God.
Ouch.
Now, of course, it is wise to exercise caution in life. Certainly we don’t hand our children over to a stranger on the corner or give our bank account number to all our neighbors. But that is far from what I’m talking about.
What I realized was that my natural inclination was to jump to conclusions, and not in a positive way. What this did was cause me to a) always be offended by something and b) always feel like I had to say something.
I had to comment.
I had to post.
I had to raise my voice.
And there is a time for all those things. But if Christ-like love believes the best about people, and if I’m practicing Christ-like love, then I can choose to decide that what someone meant when they said something, was not necessarily what I initially thought they meant.
When I believe the best about a person, I understand that there is always more to the story. That there are always more experiences, stories, and perspectives to be shared. That there are always more ideas and thoughts that could be pulled into the conversation. And perhaps most importantly, that those facts do not discount what they have said.
I have definitely not “arrived” in this area. This is a constant battle in my mind. Something I fight every single day. Something the Holy Spirit is changing in me.
I don’t know if this idea resonates with anyone else (maybe I’m the only person whose sinful heart prefers to believe the worst about others) but I felt called to share this experience with you here.
I want you to know if you often tend toward first believing the worst about others, you are not alone in that. But also, you might need to check your spirit. Because the Bible doesn’t leave any room for us to blame our sin on “our personality.”
I believe the Scripture is clear: God calls us to believe the best about others, not the worst.
I am working on this, and I just want to encourage you to work on it as well.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; OT is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, BELIEVES ALL THINGS, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7