2 Samuel 10

And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?"

(2Sa 10:3)

It is part of our human nature to be SUSPICIOUS. We are always looking for ulterior motives, for some secret hidden intention when people do something nice to us. When we behave this way, we are not behaving in love. David wanted to reach out to the Ammonites, to show them kindness… it really is a thoughtful gesture he is making here. Suspicious of this unexplainable action of David, the princes of Ammon say, “David is lying, these men are here to SPY on us”. Assuming that they are correct, the king takes the advice of these princes, and he TOTALLY HUMILIATES David’s men. They have no weapons; they had come in peace; yet the king of Ammon cuts off half of their beards, and cuts off the backs of their robes.

The Ammonites had jumped to a conclusion, and the conclusion was WRONG. We can learn a very important principle from this story: LOVE BELIEVES THE BEST. When we jump to conclusions, thinking we understand a matter, looking for ulterior motives, we don’t really believe the best. In fact, we often believe the worst. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that “Love believes the best”. When we are walking in love, we don’t make it our responsibility to uncover potential ulterior motives. Instead, we take things as they are presented to us. The Lord knows the truth, and He has promised to protect us and provide for us.

We need to realize that this is a part of “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you”. None of us want others to assume we are being sneaky and evil when we do something nice for them; we want them to be blessed! So, when someone does something nice for you, don’t go assuming they are after something. LOVE BELIEVES THE BEST.

The assumptions of the Ammonites cost them dearly because they proved to be wrong. When we make faulty assumptions, it can be costly as well. May we all be like David, looking for opportunities to bless even those who would consider themselves our enemies; and may we never be like the AMMONITES, assuming we know what’s up.

LOVE OTHERS AND TRUST JESUS.