Misattribution of Motive

Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’

- Exodus 5:17

Moses’ first request to Pharaoh is that the Israelites be allowed 3 days off of slavery to go into the desert for a festival for their God. Pharaoh denied Moses’ request, and showed something about what was going on in his heart in the process.

Pharaoh despised the Israelites. He didn’t think they were his equals. He looked down on them. And, as a result, he took this request as a sign of laziness.

This happens to us all the time. People do something or ask for something or say something and we’re put in the position of interpreting their motives: Why did they show up late? Why did they ask for time off? Why did they say that thing? We constantly have to do the guess-work of attributing motives to people. And we’re bad at it. The people we generally like or trust, we generally give the benefit of the doubt. The people we don’t like or trust, we generally presume the worst. And the consequences can be tremendous.

Moses told Pharaoh why he wanted time off from work. He told them what they would be doing. But Pharaoh’s negative perception of the Israelites and his prejudice deafened him. As a result, Pharaoh came down hard on the Israelites and made their work more difficult: “Make your bricks without straw!” He acted in line with his misattribution and made a miserable and tense situation even more miserable and tense.

When you consider recent conflicts in your life, can you find one where misattribution about the motives behind an action, a request or a comment led to a more intense conflict?

One of the healthiest things we can do in the midst of conflict is to pause and check whether we’ve made a misattribution of motive. Have we assigned to someone a motive for an action, request or comment that doesn’t actually fit?

Take a few minutes today to review a recent conflict. Search for a mistake in motive attribution: either on your part or theirs. Then, pause and ask the Lord to give you greater insight into why people are doing, asking and saying the things they are doing, asking and saying. Perhaps he will clear your eyes of some bias and prejudice and free you to engage in more peaceful relationships.

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