Are you too quick to make comment?

You have heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover. “

Well, the same can be said for people. Branding someone before you know their true story is unfair, and everyone has a story.

There is a parable (that I have modified slightly) that goes like this:

A father was traveling on a train with his ten-year-old son. An elderly couple was in the carriage with them. The boy talked nonstop to his father.

“Dad, look at those paddocks; they are so green.  Green, green, green.”

“Look at the clouds; they are so white in the blue sky.  They look like they are chasing it, don’t they Dad?”

“Wow, look at that big lake. The water is so blue, isn’t it?”

The elderly man was starting to get frustrated with the non-stop chatter from the boy; he was trying to read his newspaper.

After a while, the gentleman lowered his paper and said to the father, “You know there are some good doctors who could help your boy. You should think about taking him; it will only get worse.”

Instead of getting upset, the father smiled politely and replied, “Oh, I know.  We have just come from one such doctor.  My boy was blind from birth, and today is the first day he has had sight.”

The elderly gentleman recoiled into his newspaper to try and hide his shame.

It is very easy to judge everyone by the way they look.  Some people with disabilities have the kindest natures and the purest hearts.  They cannot help their disability; they certainly did not ask for it.

Other people dressed in the best suits and sporting the latest fashions are full of self-importance and care very little about others.  For many, that is how they got to their position of wealth.

The famous poem Desiderata says:

“If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”

In this modern world, it is a pertinent reminder of how quickly we can judge, especially when we do not know all the facts.

Till next time,

Calvin