Speculation

Have you ever really walked a mile in someone else's shoes? I have. When you've got teenage daughters, it's something you do. It's something they do. You walk a mile in someone else's shoes, in their scarf, in their jeans. It just seems to be that way. But in my experience, it has never provided any sort of enlightenment with regard to the things they've been through or the things they endure on the regular. Isn't walking a mile in someone else's shoes supposed to imbue us with some sense of compassion or empathy toward that person? Much more effective to speculate, right? I mean, that's what I tend to do. When someone says something completely outrageous or their behavior is totally offensive, I speculate. I try to imagine what on earth would have caused them to say that. I try to conceptualize their motivations for flipping someone off or cheating on a spouse. Was it her upbringing? Has he suffered past trauma? Is this some sort of bid for attention? Maybe they really didn't see my bright red truck. Speculation might help us understand, but speculation might also be unnecessary. In 1 Timothy 1:4 (CJSB), Paul writes:

Have them stop devoting their attention to myths and never-ending genealogies; these divert people to speculating instead of doing God’s work, which requires trust.

Paul was charging his "spiritual son," Timothy with the task of confronting false teachings and practices that would cause conflict and detract from the gospel. Perhaps there were those engaging in silly arguments that caused division or, more seriously, trying to force unnecessary habits onto new believers --things that would have no bearing on their salvation or lives lived in service to Christ. 

I think that, to accept Paul's advice for ourselves isn't a bad idea. Of course, we're not to argue about the specifics of things that are not revealed in or mandated by Scripture, but what about speculating as to how God will or won't work when it has not been fully revealed? For instance, you're neighbor and best friend is moving. Things are going to change. And we don't always like change, do we? So we get ourselves into a funk. God, how can anything good possibly come from this?! And then the guessing starts. Maybe God is going to have a nice young couple move in next door, and I can pop right over and invite them to our Bible study. They'll be saved. Their children will be saved. Our church will be blessed! Now, there's nothing wrong with wanting that, of course, but when nice young couple turns out to be surly old widower who wants nothing more than to be left alone, our speculations can cause division. He's not what you expected, so already you're sort of meh when it comes to him. This guy's never gonna come to Jesus! God didn't work in the way you anticipated, so you become a little meh when it comes to Him! You took Sister So-and-So for what?! It's not fair! All of your speculation as to the way God was going to redeem your situation has led you into an area that doesn't belong to you. You're trespassing on God's territory, and the bigger the hurt, the more terrifying the situation, the greater our disappointment when God doesn't perform according to our expectations. 

Maybe you've been praying for your prodigal daughter. God, it's been twelve years now, with no sign of her return. She's led her brothers astray. She isn't raising her children in the Lord. If they don't get to Sunday school soon, they'll be teenagers, and they'll never want to hear about Jesus! I'm getting older, and I'll never see my family united and serving You. This was supposed to be a restoration story!

Speculation is a diversion. It can keep us from praying for God's will and get us stuck in a rut praying for our own. He's gonna heal me, and I'll tell my story to everyone who will listen! Um, maybe He's not, and you can give Him glory because He is worthy, and it is required of us. 

Speculation can lead us to a place we were never meant to be, a place where God is trying to do something in our children, in our neighbors, in our church, but we keep messing with outcomes to bring to fruition the story we have written. We've got to host this fundraiser! God would never allow the doors of our church to close. Would He? 

Speculation can cause us to spend more time reviewing plans and going over the minutiae of our needs than we do actually praying about them. I've been in prayer meetings that bore greater resemblance to board meetings. Someone raises a concern, and it's six minutes of finding out the specifics: How many cars were involved? Who caused the accident? Then there's eight minutes of folks jumping in with similar anecdotes: You know that happened about six months ago on that same stretch of road. It was much worse. Do you think they need to install a traffic light there? And finally, ten minutes of networking: Well, my sister has a friend in Tuscaloosa that knows a great therapist. And her husband is an attorney if they're thinking about going that route. 

Speculation causes division. Between who God is and who we think we are. Between what we think prayer is and what Jesus showed us it is. Between those we're given in ministry and those we choose to minister to. 

We are to be doing God's work, work which Paul tells us requires trust. Trust because it is God's work and not ours.