In cricket, suppose an appeal is made against a batsman, but the umpires can’t see clearly whether the batsman is out or not. Then, they give the batsman the benefit of doubt and declare not out.

Similarly, when we see others doing something questionable, we can give them the benefit of doubt. After all, we don’t always know the whole story. They may well be having a bad day. Just as we may act out of character on a bad day, so too may others. Just as we would expect them to cut us some slack, so too can we cut them some slack. If we pounce on every seeming fault and make it into a big issue, we undermine the trust foundational to meaningful relationships.

The Bhagavad-gita (16.02) states that the godly are averse to faultfinding. To become godly, we need to not only approach God by practicing bhakti-yoga, but to also act like God and learn to tolerate others’ faults. Krishna sees our many wrongdoings, yet he allows us to practice bhakti. Similarly, even if we see others’ strange actions, we can tolerate them and continue our relationship.

Of course, tolerance needs to be balanced by vigilance. We can’t overlook any and every questionable action. If we see others acting improperly again and again, then they may be taking us for a ride. And our naïve faith in them may be reinforcing their wrongdoings. Doubt often plays an essential protective role.

To know when to doubt and when to give the benefit of doubt, we need to see our relationships as opportunities to serve our Lord. And we are meant to serve others by both tolerance and vigilance. Such service attitude will, by divine grace (10.10), grant us the intelligence to analyze maturely and act assertively.

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