Faulty Perceptions

Scripture: James 1:19 - So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

One Saturday my husband was in the basement, doing some handiwork, when suddenly a big black hairy spider came crawling out of nowhere!  My husband had moved something, and the spider was apparently underneath that object.  The funny thing is when my husband stepped back, he said that the spider moved, too—towards him!  He moved back again, and the spider again moved towards him. Suddenly, he realized that a web had somehow attached itself to his foot, making it appear with each movement of his foot that the creepy arachnid was aggressing towards him.  With this realization, my newly emboldened hubby annihilated the hairy critter with his foot!
 
Does this spider and web scenario remind you of the faulty perceptions we sometimes have where our personal sins are concerned?  Sometimes we misread other people, or situations—just as my dear hubby misread the spider’s perceived “movements”—utterly misinterpreting them, because our perceptions can be completely wrong! (Admittedly, he was the cause of his own anxiety in that situation).    In light of some of our besetting sins, such as unrighteous anger, unbridled anxiety, or possessing a hyper-critical spirit, this is likely why our all-knowing Father commands us to be slow to anger, slow to take offense, and quick to forgive, because people and situations are NOT always as they appear!  As one popular preacher put it, we do well to practice the saying, “RELAX, DON’T REACT!”  At the very least, we can all prayerfully work on employing greater discernment in recognizing when slowness of reaction is best.

Prayer:  Dear Abba, help us to learn the lesson “taught” by that spider—that it is ofttimes wise and good to couple alertness with slowness of reaction in our dealings with one another and in a multitude of unforeseeable situations.  We honor You when we restrain the temptation to overreact when our perceptions may be mistaken. In Jesus’ name, we thank You; Amen!

(by Denise Diggs)