It was my idea but maybe it wasn’t the best.
I spent the night in the local hospital after surgery in 2023 and had, shall we say, a “device” attached to me for the next several days. Every movement was painful. Our home was only about five miles away, and I suggested we take the back road where, I reasoned, there would be less traffic than on the state highway.
I convinced my wife to drive slowly, about 30 mph, but soon we had a parade of traffic behind us.
A truck-driver was about five vehicles back, and he announced how unhappy he was with frequent blasts of his horn. When we finally turned off the main road he floored his accelerator, roared past us and sounded his horn for a full 30 seconds in his mighty truck with raised wheels. Since that stretch was about two miles, I figure he was probably 90 seconds delayed, almost the amount of time he spent on his horn.
I wonder if he’d known I had surgery the day before he’d had been a bit more understanding.
Mary Torrans Lathrap was a licensed minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, a temperance reformer and a women’s suffragist. She’s best-known for a poem she wrote in 1895, “Judge Softly,” though it’s remembered today for its most famous line: “Walk a mile in his moccasins.” No one seems to know if she was inspired by actual contact with Native Americans—hence “moccasins,” not boots or shoes--but her exhortation is valid.
I think we’re all prone to make snap judgments based on initial impressions. We think someone lazy who may be weary after days of work. We think someone insensitive who may be anxious for a loved one or numb following a diagnosis. We think someone self-centered for not greeting us, though they may not have known we were nearby (believe me, I’ve heard, “You didn’t speak to me” in churches a time or two!).
One wit suggested the only physical exercise many of us get is jumping to conclusions and running to bear tales.
Jesus warned not to judge others, lest we be judged in the same manner.
Of course we judge rightly in certain situations, such as electing political leaders or church leaders. But Jesus’ admonition has to do with harsh and merciless condemnation.
So, I think Ms. Lathrap’s word is a good one. We should consider the circumstances in which others find themselves and refrain from condemning them for things we might do as well in their circumstance.
Our world needs a dose of compassion.
A little bit of kindness on our part can make a big difference in the lives of others.
