Be Suspicious of Suspicion

Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person – 1 Corinthians 13:7 I can honestly say that obedience to this Scripture has always been a challenge for me. I was brought up to be suspicious. I was actually taught to distrust everyone, especially if they pretended to be nice, because they must want something. In addition to being taught to be suspicious of others and their motives, I had several very disappointing experiences with people, not only before I became an active Christian, but afterwards as well. Meditating on the components of love and realizing that love always believes the best has helped me greatly to develop a new mindset. When your mind has been poisoned, or when Satan has gained strongholds in your mind, it has to be renewed according to God’s Word. This is done by learning the Word and meditating (pondering, muttering to yourself, thinking on it) We have the wonderful Holy Spirit in us to remind us when our thoughts are going in the wrong direction. God does this for me when I am having suspicious thoughts instead of loving thoughts. The natural man thinks, “If I trust people, I’ll be taken advantage of.” Perhaps, but the benefits will far outweigh any negative experiences. Trust and faith bring joy to life and help relationships grow to their maximum potential. Suspicion cripples an entire relationship and usually destroys it The bottom line is this – God’s ways work; man’s ways don’t. God condemns judgment, criticism and suspicion, and so should we. Love what God loves and hate what He hates. Allow what He allows and disallow what He disallows. A balanced attitude is always the best policy. That doesn’t mean that we are not to use wisdom and discernment in our dealings with others. We don’t have to throw open our life to everyone we meet, giving every person we encounter a chance to crush us. On the other hand, we don’t have to look at everyone with a negative, suspicious eye, always expecting to be taken advantage of by others. Trust God completely and man discreetly! Extracts from “Battlefield of the mind” by Joyce Meyer