Faulty Assumptions
1: The Way to Begin Again | Scene 4: Weak and Distant | Day 5 of 6
Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
- Mark 1:23–26“I know who you are!”
I guess I watched a lot of Westerns as a kid, because the first thing I thought of when I read the man’s rection to Jesus was like an old cowboy in a saloon: them’s fightin’ words!
Wow, he reacted strongly, didn’t he?
Have you ever spoken with someone only to have them become needlessly combative with you?
Often, their reaction is based on faulty assumptions.
In the realm of fight versus flight, much of what we call “fight” is preemptive. The person taking swings is defending without being attacked. Assuming that an attack is coming, they begin to fight, thinking they are defending themselves. But in reality, they’re just fighting.
Ironic, isn’t it? In defense, they attack.
In the corporate world, there’s a term for this: “ladder of inference.” It means we observe a situation, then quickly climb an invisible ladder of conclusions. We fill in the blanks, assign motives, build meaning, and tell ourselves a “story.” It is a concept developed by Chris Argyris and later popularized by Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline.[1] Once we get up the ladder, we respond—often emotionally—without checking whether our story is even true.
It is not just a workplace issue. It is human.
When it comes to the mind of God, we are prone to telling ourselves false stories. Not good stories, either, but false ones about God and about the world, ones in which we perceive God as harsh and demanding, as eager to mete out punishment, as being quick to anger and cruel.
Having told ourselves such a story about God, some of us flee—take flight. Many of us, though, fight back.
We take unprovoked swings at God and only succeed in hurting ourselves and others.
We react to Jesus not based on His actual words or actions, but on assumptions we have built over time.
Jesus is preaching in the synagogue when a man cries out, possessed by a spirit not of God. As he speaks, two faulty assumptions emerge immediately:
God wants something from us.
God is eager to destroy us.
These are stories the man has come to believe. But they aren’t new. They’re the same lies the serpent whispered in the garden. And they’re still infecting our hearts today.
Note: this man was in the synagogue. He wasn’t an outsider. He likely knew the Scriptures. From age six onward, as a synagogue participant, he would’ve heard the defining truth of God’s character:
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
- Exodus 34:6–7
God loves faithfully and seeking nothing in return.
Yet the man had somehow come to believe that God wants something from us.
God is slow to anger, yet the man had somehow come to believe that God is eager to destroy us.
How could he have misheard the message of the synagogue do badly?
We might ask ourselves the same question. How often do we do the same? We climb the ladder.
We assume the worst. We strike back in defense against a God who isn’t attacking. Our preemptive “defenses,” which in reality are attacks, only succeed in burning bridges and tearing down relationships.
To be clear, it can be hard to let go of these assumptions. Letting go of those assumptions takes self-awareness, humility, and grace. But the good news is this: Jesus knows the difference between the lie and the person trapped inside it.
Jesus sees the difference. He does not rebuke the man, but the faulty assumptions within him. He calls out the destructive force that is causing the man to lash out in the attack of defense.
Jesus still does that today.
He sees through the noise.
He calls out the lies.
And He loves us all the same.
Thanks be to God that through the power of Jesus, we can overcome the stories we tell ourselves, the faulty assumptions we make about God and the world.
It is no coincidence that the moment people start listening to Jesus, something screams. Destructive voices don’t leave quietly. Voices of fear and contradiction. Raised voices. Voices ascribing falsehoods to God, such as God wanting to destroy us. We often project our fears onto God, but Jesus reveals God’s true kindness and goodness. Learning to listen to Jesus speak begins with dropping the assumed conflict we bring to the relationship.
We think God wants something from us or is eager to punish.
But Jesus shows us the truth: God is kind and loving, not harsh and punishing.
Jesus comes to free us from the lies that keep us from seeing Him clearly.
Pray
Lord, call out the impure spirits in us. Name the stories we tell ourselves, the faulty assumptions that drive us to see God incorrectly, to harbor resentment, and to attack others. Cleanse our hearts and give us peace. Amen.
Live It
Story: What story about God have you been telling yourself that might need correcting today?
Recurring: Write down a recurring thought or belief, especially one that causes anxiety, guilt, or frustration.
Read: Search the Scriptures for what they say about it. For example, if you feel like you’re not good enough, look up what God has to say about your value.
Where We Are: Season 1 | Scene 4 of 6 | Day 5 of 6
Next: Day Six posts Saturday, February 28, 2026
Coming Soon: After this scene, we’ll move to Scene Five: The Lie That God Just Wants to Use Me
[1] Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 243.