You can’t always trust what you DO see …

There’s a story told about Mr. Johnson, a businessman from Wisconsin, who went on a trip to Louisiana. Upon his arrival, he immediately sent an email to his wife, Jennifer.

Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson forgot his wife’s exact email address, so the email ended up going to a Mrs. Joan Johnson of New Jersey, the wife of a preacher who had just passed away. The preacher’s wife took one look at the email and promptly fainted.

When she was finally revived by her daughter, she nervously pointed to the message, which read: “Arrived safely, but it sure is hot down here!”

There’s an interesting moral to this story which is: You can’t always trust what you DO see! At least, not on “face value.” There may be more to the story than is visible, but to react to only what you see could cause a lot of problems for you and for others.

Scripture paints a similar picture when we’re so quick to make accusations just from something we’ve observed …

“Just because you’ve seen something, don’t be in a hurry to go to court. For what will you do in the end if your neighbor deals you a shameful defeat?” Proverbs 25:7b-8.

There are times when what we see is unquestionable. But before you react to something you’ve observed, make sure what you think you saw is the truth. You may need to check the facts by asking questions and clarifying with others prior to making any final conclusions. Simply put, before you act on what you saw, be sure you understand what it really was that you saw.

Scotty