Crimes of Intention

We are living in an age that presumes to know the contents of our heads and hearts. Woke culture is full of thought crimes and guilt-presuppositions, projection being one of the political left’s favorite tools.

You braided your hair this morning to appropriate black culture. You didn’t talk to an Indian co-worker as much as others, obviously deliberately “othering” him. All the elders at your church are old, white males; you clearly don’t value women. That fellow is very curt; he surely disapproves of my lifestyle.

Quod erat demonstrandum, I suppose. Maybe.

Assuming Our Conclusion

The obvious attraction of assuming your conclusion in the absence of sufficient evidence is this: you can prevent crimes, not just punish them. That evil white supremacist in the corner hasn’t actually done anything hateful yet, but he surely will if we don’t let him know we’re on to him. That older man in your department who is so helpful is obviously waiting for just the right moment to make a sexually inappropriate proposition. The supervisor who wrote up one of his reports for being late repeatedly was clearly reacting to the fact that the poor, brave man had just come out of the closet. No more promotions for you, Jack!

In a culture where prejudgment is automatic and ubiquitous, it’s not surprising to see Christians beginning to use the world’s language and make its bold and unsupported assumptions. It’s sad, but it’s increasingly common and rarely challenged.

From Action to Motive

But ... but ... suppose that girl braids her hair because Heidi was one of her favorite books as a child. Sometimes it’s just that simple. Suppose I don’t talk to my Indian co-worker all that frequently because he sits across the room and it takes thirty seconds longer to get an answer from him than from the guy in the next cubicle, and it makes it all the more obvious to my supervisor that I’m looking for help. Suppose the elders in my church are older males only because the Bible requires it, and are white by sheer coincidence. Suppose that fellow is curt not because he dislikes me but because he’s a recent German immigrant, and he’s like that with everyone.

Assuming we can accurately jump from action to motive will lead us astray at least as often as it gives us useful insights or predicts future misbehavior. Because they are open to interpretation until we have more information, actions are easily misread. If being terse makes a man a racist, sexist or homophobe, being kind just as easily makes him a groomer, a stalker or a candidate for DEI retraining.

The Outward Appearance

Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. When we assume motive in the absence of evidence, we are entering God’s domain without the necessary equipment and presuming to know what only he can. A day is coming when God will judge the motives of men’s hearts, and he will do so perfectly. Until then, we are wise to refrain from trying to anticipate his verdict.

It’s a useful exercise to preface forming a judgment by listing all possible explanations for a particular action. There are almost always a far greater number than we think, and most are perfectly innocent. Those who profess to know what we are thinking are saying far more about themselves than they are saying about us.