"Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes."
A mile? Really? Is that all it takes to know someone? I mean to really know someone. A mile...
A mile could take me partway through one of my morning runs. A mile could take me a portion of my way through a busy day of classes. A mile could take me on a Sabbath afternoon hike. But is that enough to really know me?
I'm willing to bet that it's not. I think perhaps to truly know someone, you would have to do more than walk a mile in his shoes. Perhaps... you would have to walk a mile into his soul. Because when you walk a mile in someone's shoes, you may see what he sees. You may hear what he hears. You may understand better where he goes, what he does, and how that shapes him. But you still wouldn't know what he feels. What his motives are. The "why" behind it all. No, to do that, you have to go beyond the shoes and into the heart.
Huh. Into the heart. Know someone's soul. Sometimes - a lot of times - we don't even know what's in our own hearts. How, then, can we possibly know someone else's? Even those to whom I am the closest... I know what makes them tick. I know what brings them joy, what they like, what they hate. I know their background and I know their goals. And yet... do I ever truly know their heart? Their motives? Their truest, deepest feelings, to which they may not even be able to give words?
Perhaps there is a part of the heart - the deepest, most inner part of our core - that is known to God alone. After all, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. And if that is so... how then can we judge one another? How then can we cast the blame? So maybe the next time I think about traipsing around in someone else's shoes, I might pause... and remember... that there is only One who knows the heart of every person.
And last I checked, that wasn't me.
A mile? Really? Is that all it takes to know someone? I mean to really know someone. A mile...
A mile could take me partway through one of my morning runs. A mile could take me a portion of my way through a busy day of classes. A mile could take me on a Sabbath afternoon hike. But is that enough to really know me?
I'm willing to bet that it's not. I think perhaps to truly know someone, you would have to do more than walk a mile in his shoes. Perhaps... you would have to walk a mile into his soul. Because when you walk a mile in someone's shoes, you may see what he sees. You may hear what he hears. You may understand better where he goes, what he does, and how that shapes him. But you still wouldn't know what he feels. What his motives are. The "why" behind it all. No, to do that, you have to go beyond the shoes and into the heart.
Huh. Into the heart. Know someone's soul. Sometimes - a lot of times - we don't even know what's in our own hearts. How, then, can we possibly know someone else's? Even those to whom I am the closest... I know what makes them tick. I know what brings them joy, what they like, what they hate. I know their background and I know their goals. And yet... do I ever truly know their heart? Their motives? Their truest, deepest feelings, to which they may not even be able to give words?
Perhaps there is a part of the heart - the deepest, most inner part of our core - that is known to God alone. After all, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. And if that is so... how then can we judge one another? How then can we cast the blame? So maybe the next time I think about traipsing around in someone else's shoes, I might pause... and remember... that there is only One who knows the heart of every person.
And last I checked, that wasn't me.
