“I have never met a man I didn’t like.” Those words were famously spoken by Will Rogers when he was trying to meet with Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky. I think we could use a little more of that sentiment today. Maybe if we tried to meet people where they are, we could understand them a little better and like them a little more.
I have never met a man I didn’t like.
Will Rogers
In recent years we Americans have become so divided over so many things. Our political parties cannot seem to cooperate on much of anything. Some of our leaders set the example of name calling and ad hominem attacks against anyone they disagree with. And that was even before the pandemic, the shutdowns, the rioting, and the looting. Now we are at a point of misunderstanding and hatred like I have never seen in my life.
There is an old proverb, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.” It’s been attributed as a Native American saying, but it may actually come from the poem “Judge Softly” written in 1895 by Mary T. Lathrap. Regardless of the source, it is a lesson many of us need to relearn.
Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins
Proverbial Saying
Never has it been truer that no one story fits everyone’s situation than it is today. Some parents know their children will learn much better in a classroom than at home. Some teachers are rightfully concerned about the risk to their own health if they return to the classroom too soon. Some people ask why the government allows others to take unnecessary risks of spreading the disease. Other people are suspicious of top-down mandates because they have been burned before by government over-reach.
There is no one-size-fits-all story for race either. Certainly, some white people actively treaty people of color unjustly. Others question why it is such a big deal (they may have lived sheltered lives where they never been aware of it). But not all whites are racists. Many black people have good reason not to trust the police. But some police officers honestly doubt that the differences in arrest rates and incarceration are the result of deliberate racism.
There but for the grace of God, go I
Proverbial Saying
My point is this: people have reasons for what they believe and how they act. It is possible that their motives are purely evil, but only God can see their heart. Our responsibility is to love them enough to listen and try to understand them better.
There’s an old saying, dating from at least the early 1800’s, that “There but for the grace of God, go I.” This proverb is most often taken to mean that the misfortune another suffers might have happened to me, but for God’s mercy. Almost like how some first century Pharisees praised God that they were not born a Gentile or a woman. However, I believe it can also be applied as not judging others for the decisions they make. I quite probably would have made the same decisions had I lived their life. That second meaning is also incorporated in the poem “Judge Softly”.
“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:43-45 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Just as Will Rogers never met a man he didn’t like, there’s never been a person that God didn’t love. We are called to be like Him and love everyone, not just people that are like us. We cannot see their heart like God can, so we need to give them the benefit of the doubt. Instead of judging, we need to extend grace. Instead of calling them names, maybe getting to know them a little might help us understand why they act and believe as they do.
I need to walk a mile in someone’s moccasins before I can understand why they act like they do. After all, but for the grace of God, those could have been my moccasins.
“Judge Softly”
“Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps,
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears,
Or stumbled beneath the same load.There may be tears in his soles that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
The burden he bears placed on your back
May cause you to stumble and fall, too.Don’t sneer at the man who is down today
Unless you have felt the same 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, unknown to you in the same way,
May cause you to stagger and fall, too.Don’t be too harsh with the man that sins.
Or pelt him with words, or stone, or disdain.
Unless you are sure you have no sins of your own,
And it’s only wisdom and love that your heart contains.For you know if the tempter’s voice
Should whisper as soft to you,
As it did to him when he went astray,
It might cause you to falter, too.Just walk a mile in his moccasins
Before you abuse, criticize and accuse.
If just for one hour, you could find a way
To see through his eyes, instead of your own muse.I believe you’d be surprised to see
That you’ve been blind and narrow-minded, even unkind.
There are people on reservations and in the ghettos
Who have so little hope, and too much worry on their minds.Brother, there but for the grace of God go you and I.
Just for a moment, slip into his mind and traditions
And see the world through his spirit and eyes
Before you cast a stone or falsely judge his conditions.Remember to walk a mile in his moccasins
And remember the lessons of humanity taught to you by your elders.
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave
In other people’s lives, our kindnesses and generosity.Take the time to walk a mile in his moccasins.”
~ by Mary T. Lathrap, 1895