“Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” Proverbs 6:27 NIV
If we learn what fire is, we won’t get burned. Fire is spending more money than you make, drinking too much alcohol, or eating too much food. All of these things will cause you to get burned. On the other hand, if you run three miles a day, you will get in better shape. If you eat less calories than you expend, you will lose weight. And if you spend quiet time with God, in His word every day, you will grow closer to Him. None of these things are fire, they won’t burn you if you scoop them in your lap. The choice is yours what you scoop into your lap. If you scoop fire into your lap, you will get burned. If you avoid the fire, you won’t get burned.
One way we get burned is by assuming. We assume we know what other people think, what other people are doing, why they are acting the way they are. For instance, I’m taking graduate classes right now. I had a realization yesterday of an assumption I made years ago when I was working on my Bachelor’s. I assumed when the professor gave me a bad grade, it was because he didn’t like me. I thought I was doing the best I could and he should give me a break. However the best I could caused me to flunk out three times. My assumption was wrong. I wasn’t being honest with myself, and so I blamed my professors. The truth is, they were just grading the crappy work I did. I scooped fire in my lap, I got burned. Assuming is a scoop of fire to avoid.
Assuming is a scoop of fire to avoid.
I still struggle with assuming. I have to have mental conversations with myself saying, “I don’t know.” I don’t know what someone else is thinking. I don’t know what they are doing if they aren’t with me. I don’t know why they act the way they act. Assuming is a scoop of fire that is done so quickly, so easily and can have such dire consequences. The problem truly lies in the fact that we don’t realize we do it. We don’t realize we make these assumptions, it’s automatic for us. We make them based off of our own lives, which is a limited perspective. We assume, at the core, everyone is like us, but no one is. We are all unique, created for a special purpose. If we’re going to assume, then assume we don’t know, instead of that we do. One way to avoid fire is to stop assuming you know.
Question of the Day:
What assumption of yours is getting you burned?
Further Reading: Exodus 17:8-19:15 NIV, Matthew 22:34-23:12 NIV, Psalm 27:7-14 NIV, Proverbs 6:27-35 NIV
I enjoyed the subject of this devotion today.