I’m embarrassed to say that the first time I heard the name Yuri Gagarin was in 1998 (age 21 and nearly a college graduate). We were on a mission trip to Russia where we held conversations with people looking to practice their English.

One little girl gave us a postcard with a picture of Gagarin and explained that he was a great national hero. We politely asked what he was famous for… and you would have thought her jaw was going to hit the floor. “He,” she explained as if speaking to second-graders, “was first person in outer space!”

He sure was. And though I may have been a bit distracted in the elementary and middle school science classes, I am pretty sure no one ever taught us that a Soviet cosmonaut was the first person in space.

For me, the United States was the winner of the space race. We talked about Neil Armstrong. We marveled at the space shuttles. We mourned the losses of the seven heroes on the Challenger. I assure you we didn’t talk much about Sputnik and we never heard about Yuri Gagarin.

The gaps in my education were also being mirrored on the other side of the Iron Curtain. A Soviet-era text book from the 1980s claimed that in the US, “The criminal activity of racist organizations is not forbidden.” US cities were described as massive ghettos where minorities were not allowed to enter professional occupations.* I’m sure the girl we spoke to had some strange misunderstandings about life in America.

If lying is Satan’s native language, then misunderstanding is his oxygen. He wants us to form strong opinions on faulty logic. He hopes we’ll take sides without seeking the truth. He fans the flames of conflict and hopes no one slows down long enough to gain a better understanding from the other side.

The best way to avoid this trap from the enemy is to keep the attitude, I could be wrong. This is not a statement of doubt – we don’t wonder whether God exists or whether He has spoken from His Word – but rather a statement of humility in dealing with others.

When I find myself getting angry or feeling attacked, there’s a chance that I have misunderstood some things. Perhaps my Christian brother didn’t mean to sound harsh in his text. Maybe my sister had a good reason for her frustrations. I probably don’t have a fraction of the data I need here. If I start drawing conclusions, I could get it terribly wrong.

This kind of attitude surrenders the situation to the One who knows every aspect of every word and thought. He is not misinformed by a nationalistic education. He is not led astray by misconceptions. Keep seeking the truth in every situation.

Have the patience to seek understanding. But before all of this, trust in the God who is never wrong.