Feb
18
2022
Assumptions And Presuppositions
Posted in Daily Living 6 Comments
I met a friend for breakfast.
The restaurant has beautiful canvas photographs on the walls.
Many of the bucolic scenes are from local farms.
Some of the photographs are close-up pictures of animals.
As I put my things into the booth, my friend went to get her coffee.
I looked up at the canvas picture above me.
It was my son’s dog!
The photograph was not actually his dog, but it might as well have been.
I took out my phone and pointed it towards the picture of the Springer Spaniel.
I intended to send the picture to my son.
I looked down at my phone and saw that the picture was clear.
I knew he would love the text that included the picture of “his” dog.
My friend returned to our table.
She had been watching me from afar.
Were you taking a selfie? She asked.
I laughed.
I am sure, from her vantage point, it surely looked like I was taking a selfie.
No! I said, trying to stifle a laugh.
That is my son’s dog! I said, pointing to the picture.
Well, it’s not really his dog but it sure looks like her! I explained.
She laughed.
She knew what she saw.
However, she didn’t have the whole picture.
She saw only a part and assumed the rest.
It was an innocent assumption.
All the evidence pointed to her conclusion.
Except, it wasn’t true.
There was another reason for what I did that was far different from what she thought she saw.
Assumptions and presuppositions can get us into trouble.
We bring a lot of our own baggage to a situation.
We know what we know.
But do we know the facts or do we only know what we think are the facts?
We have such a limited view.
We see things with our own eyes and draw conclusions.
Did we see the complete picture?
Or did we just see a part?
I think of the story of the Blind Men and the Elephant by John G. Saxe.
Each man felt a part of the elephant assuming it was something far different.
They could not see the whole thing, they could only “see” a part of the elephant before them.
From their limited vantage point, they made a definitive conclusion.
Each was right in their limited assessment.
Each was wrong in their conclusion.
How often are we like the blind men and the elephant?
We see only a part and think we know the thing or the situation in its entirety.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:8-13)
God’s Word teaches us.
We know in part…when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
We are like the blind men, seeing only part of a situation.
From the small part we see, we draw a conclusion.
Often, we are wrong.
I was taking a picture of a Springer Spaniel that looked like my son’s dog.
Looking on, from a distance, it looked like I was taking a selfie.
I learned so much that morning.
Appearances without the facts.
Conclusions without knowing the full story.
Judgments based on the small part we saw with our eyes.
Parking ourselves on one side of an issue, and deciding in advance that we are correct.
This doesn’t just happen in a restaurant with canvas photographs on the walls.
This is happening in our culture, in our churches, and in our families.
Only God sees the entire picture and understands the nuances of the situation.
We cannot possibly know what He knows.
Father, help us so that we are not dogmatic about what You are not dogmatic about in Your Word. Help us remember that we see only a part, while You see the whole picture. Help us realize that we bring our assumptions and presuppositions to the table. Teach us, Father, and keep us humble before You.
Excellent, thanks Gina!
You’re welcome, Sherie.
You must have visited SF again since our lunch date together, lol! Such a great story, lesson and reminder all in one. I hope B enjoyed your thoughtful pic of ‘his’ dog, ha!
Carolyn,
He did appreciate the picture of “his” dog.
God uses the littlest things to teach us, doesn’t He?
Gina
Love this reminder!
I needed the reminder, too, Paula!
Gina