GIFT # 11 - Hope for the best or assume the worst?

Recently, a friend posted this on her social media page and thought it was tongue-in-cheek funny. I normally laugh at almost everything she posts (she's a comedian) but this one made me really sad.

Having been the recipient of a surprise birthday party and having been roped in to execute several surprise parties, I do not recall ever lying to the birthday person's face while running around making big efforts to pull off an event that honours the birthday person. Often, the plans included ensuring special people were present (some even from far away) . Decor, activities, gifts, and food are what would bring joy to the one being celebrated.

Reading the post from my friend made me feel sadness for the person who chose to focus on questioning the honesty of his/her friends instead of enjoying all the love that went into preparing a surprise party. Maybe I'm too serious for my own good.

This brought to mind a sermon series by Andy Stanley of Northpoint Community Church called "What Happy Couples Know". You can find the 4-part series on YouTube. One of the nuggets that resonated with me was the way he re-framed 1 Corinthians 13:7 - Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Andy had a simple and practical way of expounding "love hopes all things". He likened it to whether we hope for the best or assume the worst in our relationships with people. Hmm...

I know what seems natural for me to do, i.e. hope for the best but people call me naive for being that way. Especially when there are terrible things happening in the world. Andy has more to say (it IS a 4-part series, after all) and but this hoping for the best allows me to go about my life with optimism. I see the reverse in a colleague. Her constant thinking badly of the people around her causes her much grief and frustration. The anger and bitterness are clearly seen in snarky remarks about everyone and everything.

So, when you look or deal with people, do you hope for the best or assume the worst?