As we pulled out of the parking lot of the strip mall, Gaylon and I were excited to head to the celebration of Tucker’s second birthday.  We had barely gone a block, when my car stalled right in the middle of the road.  Several warning lights came on, and the car choked when I tried to start it again.  My husband got into the driver’s seat and was able to drive the car, but at a snail’s pace.

Eventually Gaylon figured out what the problem was, but wanted to get the car back to Alabama to have it fixed. That would be another forty-eight hours.  We discovered that if we started off driving very slowly, and never went too fast, the car could be driven.

As we drove the hilly roads of North Carolina, we were much slower than other cars.  People blew their horns, passed us angrily and we were even given the middle finger of fellowship.  Finally, we decided to drive with our flashing lights on until we could build up speed, and until we could correct the situation. Our warning lights were trying to say, “There is more going on here than meets your eye.”  People jumped to conclusions that we didn’t know how to drive, or two old people on the road or … whatever.  How quickly people judged us without knowing all the details.

How many times do we find ourselves jumping to conclusions about others without knowing all the details?  We often make judgments based on how things appear, yet there is a very good chance that there are details we do not know.

There is no way that we can know the motives of another, nor can we know all the circumstances surrounding things we see.  More often than not, what we think we know, we really don’t.  As we walk through life with others, before we “go-off” on someone, blowing our horns angrily, and spewing our opinions, let’s remember that only God is all-knowing.  Contrary to what we might think, jumping to conclusions is not a beneficial form of exercise.

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:18