The British justice system takes account of the accused’s intention in committing a crime. For example, killing a person will be judged differently depending on whether the defendant’s action was accidental or deliberate. The ancient people of God had a similar system. If a person killed someone by accident they could go to a ‘city of refuge’ to avoid execution (Joshua 20:1-9).
St Ignatius created a rule of Presupposition for the Jesuit religious order he founded in the 1500s. He wrote, ‘We ought to be more eager to put a good interpretation on a neighbour’s statement than to condemn it.’ In other words, always give people the benefit of the doubt. And if you’re not sure what a person means by something you should ask for clarity.
In The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, Fr James Martin S.J. writes, ‘[The Presupposition] is a key insight for healthy relationships… And while most people would agree with it in principle, we often do just the opposite. We expect others to judge us according to our intentions, but we judge others by their actions. In other words, we say to ourselves, My intention was good. Why don’t they see it? But when it comes to other people… we say, “Look what they did!” The Presupposition helps us… approach every interaction with an open mind and heart by presuming — even when it is hard to do so — that the other person is doing his or her best and isn’t out to get you.’
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