Thinking the Worst Versus Thinking the Best

Pride tends to think the worst of others, and that is exactly what I did. I thought the worst of someone. This morning was a good reminder not to think badly of others, but to instead think the best. Especially, if I don’t have full knowledge of why the person did what they did. My belief that assumptions are not beneficial is becoming increasingly affirmed. Dr. Halstead has so kindly let many students from the Master’s College stay at his house rent free. He has been living in India for the past six months and Santa Clarita will be happy and blessed to have him back this Friday! Some people thought it would be wonderful to do a thorough cleaning of the house before he gets back. There has been so many people that have been in-and-out of the house since he has been gone, so the house definitely needed some good Clorox ,Windex, and Mr. Clean. An email was sent to the people who have lived in the house this Fall asking if any one would be available to help clean today. Some replied with an unfortunate decline, because they are out-of-state for the holidays visiting their families. I was the only one that said I would be able to do it. One of my roommates who is still living in the house never responded to the email, and actually left the house for the afternoon just an hour before our set time to clean. The cleaning idea actually came from a roommate who has already moved out of the house, so when she arrived for us to start cleaning I was the only one at the house. I started to think bad thoughts to myself about my “Non-communicative roommate”: “Why did she leave?” "How clever to have left just an hour before it was time to start cleaning!" “She just didn’t want to clean, so she left!” “...How lazy” “...Where is the love?” “She has been blessed with the opportunity to stay at the house, and it doesn’t even seem like she is thankful!” My pride was already puffed up because I was the only one who said they would be able to do it, and the funny thing was that I was only able to help for a couple of hours. When I got home from work today I learned a really good lesson I hope to remember. I found out that my roommate who had left for the day never got the email, because her computer crashed. She was actually really bummed that she did not know about our cleaning extravaganza, and helped out as much as she could as soon as she got home. Some dark specks in my heart became darker as I realized I didn’t mention it to her. I had forgotten that her computer crashed and I assumed that she was ignoring the situation and didn’t want to take part. I thought the worst. The truth was that she was willing, but simply did not know about it. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says that we are to encourage one another and build each other up. How can I encourage others and build others up, if I assume in such situations and think the worst of them? Reality check! Am I thinking badly of other people in my life? Am I making assumptions based on my ignorance? How am I encouraging others, thinking the best of them, and building them up? I don’t think loving others more than myself includes thinking badly of them. Instead, I should be thinking the best and wait until I get the opportunity to communicate to get more information if I am ever in question. Answering a question with an assumption, is no answer at all… it is an assumption. I Praise my Father in Heaven for this reminder and for eyes that see! He cares so much for His children!