What did you just see? There is an exercise we sometimes use in our situational awareness class. We tell the class to imagine the following situation. They have just stepped out of their car in the parking lot of a large shopping center.
As they begin walking toward the entrance, they notice a man rushing out of the store, carrying a little girl with his hand over her mouth. As he heads toward his car, his hand slips for a moment, and they hear the little girl cry out, No, no, let me go. I want my mama.
I want my mama. Then we ask the class, What did you just witness? Without fail, the answer is always the same. A kidnapping.
We then explain that their conclusion, although understandable, is wrong. They assumed the worst because they only had an outside view, a small portion of what was actually happening. Had they been inside the store, they would have seen a very different scene.
A dad had brought his daughter in to shop for a gift for his wife. While browsing, the little girl picked up a toy. Her father gently reminded her that her birthday was approaching and that they would not be buying toys today.
When she refused to put the toy back, the father placed it back on the shelf himself. At this point, the little girl launched into a full-blown temper tantrum. Embarrassed, the father tried to calm the little girl, but the louder she became, the more he realized the shopping trip was over.
He picked her up and headed for the exit. The girl, determined to resist, kicked, screamed, and cried for her mother all the way to the door. What appeared to be a kidnapping from the outside was, in reality, a frustrated parent trying to get his child home.
Once the class hears both sides, they understand that you cannot come to the right conclusion without having the complete view of a situation. And this principle is just as true when it comes to religion. Many people form opinions about what God wants based only on partial information.
When we rely on an outside view, we often jump to conclusions or cling to ideas simply because they justify what we already want to do. Some even claim Christian liberty without ever opening their Bibles to search out God's fuller, inside view. Scripture warns us about this very danger.
Proverbs 18.13 teaches, He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him. In other words, drawing conclusions without seeking all the facts, especially God's facts, leads us into error. If we truly desire to know God's will, we must be willing to look beyond appearances, set aside assumptions, and let His Word give us the whole picture.
Only then can we judge rightly, live wisely, and understand what God would have us to do. Jesus teaches us the same principle when He says, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. John 7.24 We must seek God's complete picture before deciding what is right.
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