MUST BE

The last chapter of Acts begins with Paul and 275 others crawling onto the sands of Malta after enduring weeks of stormy seas and a horrific shipwreck.

The local islanders show "unusual kindness" to these battered men and build a fire to dry them off and warm them up.

When Paul reaches for an armload of brush to add to the fire and a poisonous snake sinks its fangs into his hand, jaws drop all around.

The islanders say to each other, "Can you imagine this guy surviving a shipwreck only to die from a snake bite? Justice is out to get him. He must be a murderer."

But Paul literally shakes it off and warms himself by the fire. 

When he doesn't swell up or fall over dead, the islanders now conclude, 'He must be a god."

We are all susceptible to "must be" thinking. That is, "There is only one possible explanation ... and I know what it is."

This is one form of what author Scott Adams calls "Loserthink". He calls these "must be" conclusions a "failure of imagination". 

Adams writes, "To keep yourself out of mental jail, continually remind yourself that the most likely explanation for many -- if not most -- situations in life is something you didn't imagine." 

To truly understand what was going on with Paul in that moment, the islanders would have needed to read Acts starting from chapter 1, verse 1. Unfortunately, Luke hadn't written it all down yet. 

But even if he had, the islanders - being human - would still have taken the short cut in their reasoning. He must be a murderer. He must be a god.

Pay attention over the next 24 hours to how often your friends, co-workers, and family draw "must be" conclusions about various situations. You'll be astounded.*

(You do it too - it's just so much easier to see in other people.)

God only knows how often our "must be" completely misses the mark ...

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*And if you want to hear a dozen "must be" conclusions per minute, listen to political pundits.