SUSPICIOUS MINDS

I  was in a coffee shop with a friend last
week when a man walked in, sat down for a few
minutes, got back up and walked out. I was on the
phone with him at the time when his tone suddenly
changed: “That guy’s walked out and left his bag
under the chair?! I’m getting out of here”. For one
scary moment, he thought the bag contained a bomb
and assumed he was going to be another statistic
on the evening news. Turns out it was a harmless
mistake – the guy was a homeless man who’d
forgotten his bag under the chair and he just wanted
a warm place to sit for a few minutes.

In my home country, Nigeria , fear and suspicion
have become part of the fabric of our lives. We
question every legitimate excuse and are suspicious
of every good intention or genuine request for help.
Only a few days ago, a father requested time off
from work to be with his sick son. The young child
had suffered horrific burns as a result of a gas bottle
explosion and he now lay in intensive care, battling
for his life. The father showed management photos
of the boy’s injuries in the hope that his request
would be granted. The HR manager responded
quickly, “yah, that’s fine, but remember, you’ve only
got six days compassionate leave for the whole
year”. Everyone in the office stopped and stared –
the cold, harsh words hung in the air for a moment
before the MD stepped in and said the man could
have as much time as he needed to be with his son.
We’ve become pre-conditioned to be suspicious of
everyone, to expect the worst and to question the
best. Part of the reason we default to suspicion is
because we fear disappointment and every time
someone lets us down, it reinforces that suspicion of
humanity.
Rather than react out of fear and suspicion however,
perhaps we can renew our thinking by listening
intently, looking carefully and asking God for His
wisdom and discernment whenever we’re faced with
a choice – to be fearful and suspicious, or to give
the person the benefit of the doubt. Maybe we can
start by responding in love, rather than reacting out of
fear and suspicion.