How Assumptions Lead Us Astray

​We’ve all been there. Someone doesn’t text back right away, a boss calls an unexpected meeting, or a friend looks at us a little differently, and immediately, the wheels start turning. Our minds sprint down a rabbit hole of scenarios, building an entire alternate reality out of thin air.

​Most of the time, we don’t even realize we’re doing it. We call it “reading between the lines,” but let’s call it what it really is: making assumptions.

​I was talking to my four-year-old daughter about this recently. She’s at that beautiful age where everything is a question: “What’s that, Mom? What’s this?” While it’s easy for parents to give a quick, brush-off answer just to keep moving, I make it a point to tell her exactly what things are and how they work. I want her to have facts, not guesses.

​Yesterday, I told her, “You can’t make assumptions.”

​Naturally, she looked at me and asked, “What’s assumptions, Mom?”

​I gave her an image that I think we all need to remember:

​”An assumption is your imagination running wild. It’s what happens when you want to know about something, but you don’t ask questions. It’s like standing in front of a closed door. You can sit there and make a million assumptions about what’s behind it—a monster, a treasure, a whole new world. Your mind goes crazy for no reason. But when you finally open the door? There’s nothing there but a solid wall.”

​When we let our assumptions go crazy, we trap ourselves. But when we look at this through a spiritual lens, the danger goes much deeper than just wasted mental energy. There is a direct link between making assumptions and the concept of sin.

​Leaning on Our Own Understanding

​The word “sin” is often translated from old archery terms meaning “to miss the mark.” It is a deviation from truth, a turning away from what is real and holy. When we live in our assumptions, we are actively choosing a fiction over reality. We are missing the mark.

​The Bible warns us explicitly about the danger of relying on our own mental guesswork:

​“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” — Proverbs 3:5-6

​When we assume, we do the exact opposite of this commandment. We declare that our limited human viewpoint, our fears, and our personal biases are enough to judge a situation. We trade divine truth for human imagination. The Apostle Paul talks about the mental battle we face, writing that we must:

​“…demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 10:5

​An assumption is an uncaptured thought. It’s an imagination running wild, creating boundaries and rules that God never set for us.

​Biblical Examples: When Assumptions Cost Us Greatly

​Scripture is filled with stories of well-meaning people who made assumptions instead of seeking the truth, and the consequences were always costly.

​1. Joshua and the Gibeonites (The Danger of Not Asking Questions)

​In Joshua chapter 9, a group of people called the Gibeonites wanted to trick Israel into a peace treaty. They showed up wearing old, tattered clothes, carrying dry, moldy bread, pretending they had traveled from a faraway land.

​Joshua and the leaders of Israel looked at the evidence and made an assumption based entirely on what their eyes could see.

​The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. — Joshua 9:14

​Because they didn’t open the door and ask the right questions—to God or to the travelers—they walked straight into a trap. Their assumption created a covenant they were stuck with for generations.

​2. Job’s Friends (The Danger of False Witness)

​When Job lost his wealth, his children, and his health, his closest friends came to comfort him. But instead of just offering love, they looked at his suffering and made a massive assumption: “You must have committed a terrible sin for God to punish you like this.”

​For chapters and chapters, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar built a whole theological case against Job based entirely on guesswork. They put limits on who Job was and who God was. At the end of the story, God directly rebukes them for their assumptions, telling them: “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me.” (Job 42:7).

​Their assumptions led them straight into the sin of false witness.

​Open the Door and Look for the Truth

​An assumption is a cage we build for ourselves. Our minds start setting boundaries on what we can do, what we can’t do, who likes us, and who doesn’t. We let our runaway imaginations dictate our limitations, cutting us off from exploring the vast potential of what the Lord put inside of us.

​Human imagination is a gift, but left unchecked, its “assumption level” can go way beyond anything healthy. It takes us to anxious, dark, and crazy places.

​If you want to live a life aligned with truth, you have to stop guessing and start asking. Don’t let your mind build a kingdom out of illusions behind a closed door. Have the courage to open the door, face the reality, even if it’s just a blank wall, and leave the ultimate understanding where it belongs.

​What is one assumption you are holding onto today that you need to test with truth? Open the door and find out.