Assume Nothing – Toni M. Babcock
“Therefore judge nothing before the time…” (1 Corinthians 4:5 KJV)
One of the most painful experiences as a believer is to be misjudged due to a false assumption. We expect to be judged by people in the world, but when we’re judged by people in the church it really hurts.
I remember hearing about a Christian speaker who assumed a man in the audience was disinterested in his message because the man chose to fall asleep. Later in the evening, he learned the man was narcoleptic and could fall asleep anywhere at any time. He had no control over his sudden sleep episodes!
I have a vocal disorder which prevents me from speaking in a smooth even tone. My voice sounds forced, jerky, with an uncontrollable tremor that makes me sound upset and about to cry. The stigma attached to my disorder is inescapable. I avoid phone calls and lengthy conversations. People who don’t know me assume I’m sick, stand-offish, lacking confidence, or upset. Some assume it’s due to a mental problem or “it’s all in my head.” I belong to a Facebook group for people with Spasmodic Dysphonia and we’ve all had similar responses from people who don’t understand.
Let’s look around us as believers. Is there someone any of us might be making a false assumption about? People assumed many things about the Apostle Paul that were hurtful. “For his letters say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible,” (2 Corinthians 10:10 KJV). In other words, Paul was a disappointment because his physical weakness and verbal inadequacy didn’t live up to his writing. Yet Paul wrote how God’s “grace is sufficient” and His “…strength is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV). We should never assume anything about any Christian God stands to use in His own mighty way.
Toni is the author of The Stone Writer Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens and Reflections from the Heart in Light of the Gospel of Jesus. Contact
