AND what are evil surmisings? The apostle Paul classes them with pride, ignorance, envy, strife, railing, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and such like. This is placing them in bad company, where they properly belong. A “surmise” is a suspicion, an imagination that something may be wrong of which there is no evidence at all, or none which warrants the suspicion. An “evil surmise” is an injurious and unwarranted suspicion, which one person harbours toward another. He may be censurable, but there is no evidence that he is; and oft-times a little inquiry and a little charity would satisfy the surmiser that he has no ground of suspicion.
The observations of a pretty long life have satisfied me, that these evil surmisings are fraught with infinite mischief in neighbourhoods and larger communities. As such all persons ought to be put on their guard against indulging them, and the grievous wrong of cherishing them ought to be placed in its true light. It is a dictate of common justice, as well as of scripture, that in judging of other men’s characters we should put the most favourable construction upon their actions which the circumstances of the case will allow. We all hold them bound to do so by us, and the golden rule binds us just as strong as it does them. Instead of giving place to evil surmisings, to injurious suspicions concerning others, we are religiously bound to exercise that charity of the thirteenth of Corinthians, which “hopeth all
things and believeth all things.” It is often, if not always, as sinful and malignant to cherish suspicions against a man, as it is to speak evil of him without cause; as it is to slander him. The wrong, the mischief, is not the less because the venom works secretly. It may rankle as deeply in the heart of the surmiser, and in the end be as destructive of all confidence and good neighbourhood.
Mr. A., being of a jealous disposition, imagines that his neighbour, Mr. B., is not friendly to him. By putting things together which perhaps have no connection but in his evil surmisings, he persuades himself that Mr. B. is secretly trying to undermine or injure him and his family in some other way. The more he broods over it, the stronger do his suspicions become, till every word and action which can possibly be seized upon goes to confirm them. Mr. B. is undoubtedly his enemy, and not to be trusted. To be sure there is no evidence of it, but his evil surmisings have supplied the deficiency. Now if, instead of entertaining them, he would put the most favourable construction upon his neighbour’s intentions, all his suspicions would perhaps be allayed at once. Or if not, by just going to him, and frankly asking for an explanation, he might be perfectly satisfied in five minutes.
So Mrs. C. imagines that Mrs. D. in the next house slights her, and purposely shuns her society, when such a thought never entered into the heart of Mrs. D. It is an evil surmising which ought never to have been given place to, “no, not for an hour.” And so I might go on to the end of the alphabet. There is no estimating the evils which grow out of groundless suspicions, which often lurk in half the families of a populous neighbourhood. There are surmises and counter-surmises without number, which, where they are indulged, inevitably ripen into strife, evil speaking, and the indulgence of all those jealousies and evil passions which destroy the peace of society. So long as men are disposed to think well of one another, and look upon the
favourable side, they can hardly fail of dwelling together in harmony; but as soon as ever they “give place to the devil,” by indulging in evil surmisings, trouble and open discord are sure to follow. This is true, not only in the social relations of life, but in religion, in politics, and in all other relations. O, when will men be governed by the spirit of the gospel? When will their minds be imbued with that charity which “suffereth long and is kind, which envieth not, which seeketh not her own, which believeth all things, hopeth all things, and never faileth?”
It is a righteous retribution, that evil surmisings torment those who indulge them as much as they wrong those towards whom they are indulged. I hold it impossible that any person can be happy, can enjoy a quiet and peaceful state of mind, who is jealous, who is suspicious of his neighbours, without proof. It is an uncomfortable feeling. It sours and irritates the temper. It stirs up the bile. The evil surmiser may not know what the matter is, but he really makes himself unhappy, and, till he learns to look upon others with charitable eye, he will be. “Can a man take coals of fire in his bosom and not be burned?”
And one thing more: a person who indulges himself in evil surmisings, who is suspicious of everybody, and ready to ascribe sinister designs and motives to his neighbours, lays himself open to the retort, which may have as much truth as severity in it, “You judge others by yourself.” “How could you, without a particle of evidence, suspect me of such a thing, if you was not conscious of being chargeable with something equally dishonest or dishonourable yourself?”
As we would be judged by the golden rule, as we value the rights of others, and our own peace of mind, let us put all these evil surmisings far from us. The moment they tempt us to harbour them, let us chase them away. Evil surmising poisons the mind with the poison of hell and ought to be shunned as the devil.—Christian Treasury.