Reflection
There is a mean-spiritedness about suspicion. When suspicion is spread by gossip it damages relationships and wounds feelings. When suspicion is spread in the public arena by political officials, it fuels fears and widens divisions. Suspicion robs us of our peace of mind and strains our relationships without sufficient cause. It causes us to view someone negatively with little evidence and no proof of untrustworthy behavior. To accept and believe only facts that have been verified about people or situations is to live in reality. Be the facts positive or negative we are free because we are not controlled by worry or anxiety. We can judge sensibly and act justly and be at peace and know that “the truth will set you free”.
Prayer
O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me.
Psalm 43:3
Action
Try to give to others the same trust and freedom of action that you seek from them. Don’t make negative judgments without facts or support prejudice against groups of people without cause. Do not be trapped into suspicious attitudes by negative political propaganda.
Suggested Reading
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
Matthew 7:3
Judge not that you may not be judged.
Matthew 7:1
Suspicion is far more apt to be wrong than right; oftener unjust than just. It is no friend to virtue, and always an enemy to happiness.
Hosea Ballou
The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.
Winston Churchill
Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
Abraham Lincoln
Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.
William Shakespeare
There are weapons that are simply thoughts. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy.
Rod Serling
;
The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.
Mahatma Gandhi
Suspicion and doubt lead to animosity and hatred.
Ralph Steadman