Today's Life Lesson
|
You’ve heard of Harry Potter. But have you heard of the Bishop Potter?
Let me tell you his story.
In his little book Illustrations of Bible Truth, H.A. Ironside pointed out the folly
of judging others. He related an incident in the life of Bishop Potter. Ironside wrote, “He [Bishop
Potter] was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners.
When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin
with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser’s
desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the
ship’s safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that
privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy
the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not
be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the
valuables and remarked, ‘It’s all right, Bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care
of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his for the same
reason!’”
Now, let me tell you the story of
Chancellor Lloyd George.
Mr. Lloyd George was addressing a
meeting in South Wales when the chairman, thinking to be witty at the
chancellor’s expense, remarked to the audience that he was a little
disappointed in Mr. George’s appearance.
“I had heard so much about Mr. Lloyd
George,” he said, “that I naturally expected to meet a big man in every sense.
But, as you can see for yourselves, he is very small in stature.”
Many an orator would have been
grievously upset by such an unfortunate beginning to the proceedings, but not
so Mr. Lloyd George.
“I am grieved to find,” he said with
mock seriousness, “that your chairman is disappointed in my size, but this is
owing to the way you have here of measuring a man. In North Wales, we measure a
man from his chin up, but you evidently measure him from his chin down!”
Let’s not judge by appearance. I
once heard a person say, “Do not judge a book by its cover. Just cover the book!”
History is
full of people’s misjudgments about other people. Take a look at some:
• A
six-year-old lad came home with a note from his teacher in which it was
suggested that he be taken out of school, as he was “too stupid to learn.” That
boy was Thomas A. Edison.
• Alfred
Tennyson’s grandfather gave him 10 shillings for writing a eulogy on his grandmother. Handing it to the lad, the old man
said: “There, that is the first money you ever earned with your poetry, and
take my word for it, it will be the last.” He later on became Poet Laureate of
the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria’s reign.
• Benjamin
Franklin’s mother-in-law hesitated in letting her daughter marry a printer. There were already two
printing offices in the United States, and she feared that the country might
not be able to support a third.
Here’s a
good reminder for you and me that we must not be quick to judge others:
Don’t Judge
Too Hard
Pray don’t find fault with a man who limps
Or stumbles
along the road,
Unless you
have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled
beneath his load.
There may be
tacks in his shoes that hurt,
Though
hidden away from view,
Or the
burden he bears, placed on your back,
Might cause
you to stumble, too.
Don’t sneer
at the man who is down today,
Unless you
have felt the 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, if dealt to you
In the
selfsame way at the selfsame time,
Might cause
you to stagger, too.
Don’t be too
harsh with a man who sins,
Or pelt him
with words or stones,
Unless you
are sure, yea, doubly sure,
That you
have not sins of your own.
For you
know, perhaps, if the tempter’s voice
Should
whisper as soft to you
As it did to
him when he went astray
Would cause
you to falter, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment