Suspicious

Thursday August 15, 2024

To be suspicious can be good or bad depending on the circumstances. We are often told to watch out for suspicious behaviour and report it when appropriate. Most of us would be suspicious of a person lurking around in our neighbourhood and who appears to have no motive for being there. Being suspicious, however, becomes a shortcoming when we distrust a person, or a program, simply because the person or event does not meet our expectations.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3 NIV)

In addiction it was easy to accuse others of things we suspected they did, whether we had proof or not. Accusing a person without proof causes anger and resentment and perhaps even violence. In an intimate relationship, a person may be suspicious of their partner if they appear to pay extra attention to someone else, and in a volatile relationship, this may even cause the suspicious person to become violent.

So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:14b NKJV)

There are times when our self-protection and character defects incline us to suspect evil intentions in another person. This can result in us reacting to what we think, rather than to what is true. Someone may have decided to dispose of junk that has been lying around only to have another person accuse them of stealing their belongings. We need to look for good in a person rather than being suspicious of evil intention. Suspicion should be settled by a willingness to speak with the other person and hear truth.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Please help me to be more considerate of others and less inclined to self-protection. I ask for the gift of thinking good thoughts about others rather than finding fault. Amen

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