It takes a conscious effort to avoid defaulting to…

"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16 ESV)

 It’s natural to make assumptions about people. Sadly, what we tend to assume is often negative. We all know that it’s wrong according to Scripture for us to think this way about others. It doesn’t reflect how Jesus is. Even if these perceptions are technically accurate, they may be uncharitable or shallow, and probably don’t take into account all the factors behind why a person acts or responds in certain ways.
 I think this common human weakness of assuming the negative or drawing negative conclusions indicates how important it is that we actively and continually work to take on the mind of Christ. It takes a conscious effort to avoid defaulting to these negative tendencies.
 Can we know what is going on in someone else’s thoughts or heart? Can we look into a person’s soul and ascertain the private details of their life? Of course we can’t.
 When a person’s motives are unknown and we don’t agree with their actions or perspectives, or they rub us the wrong way, it’s easy to conclude that their motives are more likely to be wrong than right.
 However, when we look to Jesus and allow Him to guide our thoughts, He can help us to see things as He sees them. We know how wrong criticizing others is. We know it displeases God and is contrary to His Word. —Maria Fontaine [1]

 The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others. —Albert Schweitzer

[1] Activated The Compassion Game