The family at church that parks in the far corner of the lot? It’s not because they have drugs in the car. They aren’t “ridin’ dirty” as the prophet Chamillionaire would have you believe.
And even if they are, at least they are at church, am I right?
For what it’s worth, I bet they park there for the shade. Shocking, I know.
I have heard some of the most outlandish stuff come out of otherwise highly educated adults’ mouths in the name of prayer requests, just-so-you-knows, and other assorted code names for gossip.
Humans are looking for a story, and very VERY prone to connect dots that don’t even exist so that the three pieces of a story they do have fit into a plot line that jives with their preconceived notions and assumptions.
I saw them at the grocery store, near the beer, and so it follows logically that they are recreationally smoking marijuana on their back porch. Because Pastor said last week that some people at church are not walking with the Lord.
Logically.
What would happen if we started Assuming The Best about the people in our church? If instead of assuming they started going to another church because of an egregious sin in their life, we assume that they are adults who made the decision they felt was best for their family?
What if, instead of second-guessing church leadership at every turn, we prayed for them, understanding that they have a very difficult and at times practically thankless job. By simply assuming the best about our church leaders and their motives, we could change the world!
Or, we could just assume that the pastors are dealing drugs out of their trunk. That’s always an option. I hear the pay is good.