Reflection
There is a mean-spiritedness about raising suspicion. It differs from the realistic caution that is appropriate in certain situations. Suspicion causes us to view a person or situation negatively with little evidence and no proof of untrustworthy behavior. It is a form of attitudinal violence which robs us of our peace of mind and causes strains without sufficient cause. Jesus said “the truth will set you free”. 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, their accuracy brings us a certain stability and integrity. We are free because we are not controlled by worry or anxiety caused by the spread of baseless theories. We can choose our course of action, judge maturely, and act justly.
Prayer
O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me.
Psalm 43:3
Action
I will try to give to others the same trust and freedom of action that I seek from them. I will not make negative judgments without cause.
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
No one heals himself by wounding another.
St. Ambrose
If you are desirous of practicing the beautiful virtue of charity, strive in the first place to reject every rash judgment, distrust, and unfounded suspicion of your neighbor.
St. Alphonsus
Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people’s, if we are always criticizing trivial actions – which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives.
Saint Teresa of Avila
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
The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.
Mahatma Gandhi
Suspicion is most often useless pain.
Samuel Johnson
Allow me to assure you, that suspicion and jealousy never did help any man in any situation.
Abraham Lincoln
When suspicion and hostility is allowed to fester, it can erupt into unrest.
Loretta Lynch