Fear Can Misread the People around Us

“Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake. And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.”

Genesis 20:9-13 KJV

Abraham had reached a conclusion about the people around him before their conduct justified it. He assumed that the fear of God was absent and that deception was necessary for his safety. Then Abimelech confronted him with a clear account of the wrong Abraham himself had introduced.

Read the passage carefully

The exchange is humbling. A man who had received God's promises needed correction about his treatment of someone outside his household. Spiritual privilege did not make his assumptions accurate or his conduct righteous. Genesis allows Abimelech's rebuke to stand plainly. We should be willing to hear a true correction regardless of whether it arrives from the person we expected to teach us.

Fear can still distort our judgment. We may assume hostility, assign a motive, and prepare a defensive response before listening to the facts. Prudence is appropriate, especially where genuine danger exists. The problem is treating an unexamined suspicion as permission to act dishonestly. A Christian reputation does not make that dishonesty less serious. Our witness is damaged when people discover that the respect we request from them is different from the truthfulness we are willing to offer in return.