Judge Gently

Author Unknown

Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps or stumbles along the road, unless you have worn the shoes he wears or struggled beneath his load. There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt, though hidden away from view, or the burden he bears, placed on your back might cause you to stumble too.

Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today unless you have felt the blow that caused his fall or felt the shame that only the fallen know. You may be strong, but still the blows that were his if dealt to you, in the selfsame way, at the selfsame time, might cause you to stagger too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins or pelt him with word or stone, unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure, that you have no sins of your own – for you know perhaps if the tempter’s voice should whisper as softly to you as it did to him when he went astray, it might cause you to stumble too.

Consider this: ‘Every man has his secret sorrows, which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.’ – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow