The Sin of Presumption

A story is told of a lady and a faithful dog. Whenever she went out, she would leave the dog to watch her baby . Every time she returned, the baby was safe and the dog was always keeping guard. One day, everything changed. She returned to a bloody house. The walls were filled with blood, the sheet was tattered and the stench of death permeated the atmosphere. When she looked, she saw the dog coming from under the bed licking blood from his lips. Without hesitation, she presumed what was wrong and concluded that the dog killed her baby. She immediately grabbed a weapon and bludgeoned the dog to death.But, as she stood over the body of the dead dog, it dawned on her that she did not see any item for the baby amidst the rubble. She glanced to her left and there was the baby safely asleep. When she lifted the sheet and looked under the bed, she saw a dead, wild animal and in that moment she realized the gravity of her action. It was obvious that it was a bloody fight and the dog fought to protect the baby from the wild animal.

This act by the woman is similar to the sin of presumption. What stands out about this incident?

1. The lady did not even remember in that moment the many times her dog was faithful.

2. She didn’t investigate before drawing the wrong conclusion.

3. She killed the dog and there is absolutely no way to reverse her actions.

How many times have we made presumptions about others? How often have we misjudged people and torn them to shreds with harsh words and even with physical assault before we have had time to evaluate the situation? It is called the sin of presumption.  Presuming things is when one forms a conclusion without taking the trouble to find out exactly what the situation really is. A little patience can drastically reduce major lifelong errors. Had she tried to ascertain what happened or even glanced around the room, she would not have made that grave error. 

Psa 19:13 KJV – 13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.