Rejoicing in Truth

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Thursday, June 01, 2006

So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. —James 2:12

How often will someone come and say, "Did you hear about so-and-so?" And how often our response will be, "No, what?" How often we will believe a rumor. Rather, we should say, "Stop right there. Have you talked to them about it? Maybe they didn't do it. I don't believe they would do such a thing." We should believe the best of others, but so often we will believe the worst.

How sad and how embarrassing it is when we find out the rumor was a complete fabrication, and we actually fanned the flame by believing it and even spreading it to others. How hard it is when something unkind or untrue is said about us and we find that people believe it without even asking us. That is not the way we should be.

The Bible tells us that love "believes all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7). Another way to translate this verse is, "Love believes the best of every person." It means that as a member of the body of Christ and as a loving Christian, you are not always suspicious of others. You are not a cynic. If someone you love, a fellow member of the church, is accused of doing something wrong, you will consider him or her innocent until proven guilty. And not only that, you will stand up for this person.

God's love "does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). God's love believes the best of every person.

Used with Permission