Evil Surmising

Mike Johnson

I Timothy 6:4 speaks of the sin of “evil surmising.”  The passage says, (KJV) “He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings.”  What is evil surmising?  We need to know what it is to see if we are guilty of it or not.

Let us break down the expression.  The word evil means “wicked.”  The term surmising  means, “to suppose, imagine, to conjecture.”  Thus the idea is to suppose, to imagine, or to conjecture in a wicked way.  The NASB says, “evil suspicions.”  We are guilty of evil surmising when we think or imagine that others are involved in wrong without real reason or evidence to do so.

A similar idea is found in I Corinthians 13:8.  Here we are told that “love thinketh no evil.”  This verse shows us that we are to think, or believe, good about a person (or situation) as long as possible.

Evil surmising is common today.  It is often associated with such sins as envy, hatred, and jealousy.  Perhaps the reason for this is that such sins frequently lead to evil surmising.  Further, evil surmising is like many other sins, as it tends to promote more sin.

We must make sure that we are not guilty of the sin of evil surmising.