25/02/2013

Jumping to Conclusions


I had to chuckle one time watching two children having an argument. The 41/2 year old boy was paging through a photo album. He saw his 21/2 year old sister in one of the photos as a baby.
"You were a baby," he told his sister.
She indignantly replied, "I'm not a baby!' Her feet began to stomp, "Look at me--am I a baby? I'M NOT A BABY!"
Her brother calmly replied, "Here you're a baby."
The little girl misunderstood her brother and jumped to the conclusion that he was calling her a baby.
What a comical picture of husbands and wives! How often do we think 'because our husband said this he must have meant that'?
I so see myself in that little girl--unfortunately! I think it's a tendency that women have--to read into things what is not there. Maybe men have the tendency to be insensitive!
Here's an example--my husband makes a comment on how much easier it is to be single. I straightaway jump to the conclusion that he is saying he would rather be single or he wishes he had never got married. Then he wonders why I'm offended because he just stated a simple fact--it's easier to be single (in some ways). He didn't say let alone mean that he'd rather be single!
The same problem can come from actions not just words--because he did this he must think that.
Sometimes there's a very simple reason for his action, but instead of finding out, we jump to conclusions.
A verse that is helping me in this weakness is 1 Corinthians 13:5 "Charity...is not easily provoked, thinking no evil;"
Let's learn a lesson from a little boy and girl!

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