You probably heard
the adage ‘Don’t judge someone till you’ve
walked a mile in their shoes’. The idea is that when we place ourselves in someone
else situation it might change our perceptive on how we think about them. The
Bible encourages this for us but it goes even farther; it asks us too put ourselves
in their stocks.
Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who
are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.
Hebrews 13:3
The text of Hebrews
here says for us to put ourselves in the state of prisoners. That might be hard
to do. It is easier for us to think of a prisoner as someone who is getting the
fate they deserve. That might be the case. Of course in this time frame, the folks
in prison could have done nothing more wrong than being a Christian. Still the
temptation is to shy away from in that state rather than put yourself in their place.
It doesn’t just happen
to people in literal prisons it happens to those in metaphorical ones as well. People
that are homebound because of ill health. Folks trapped in bad relationship and
situations. People treated with suspicion because of their race or background. Those
locked into a cycle of poverty. Before we forget, relegate or dismiss them,
maybe we should ask ourselves what we would do if we were in the same boat as
them?
Judgment is easy.
Fair judgment is more difficult. Let try
to remember those that might in tough situations with some proper discernment.
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