WALK IN ANOTHER’S SHOES!

30th JANUARY 2022“And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself”- Matthew 22:39-40

To walk in another’s shoes is to show empathy towards the other’s feelings. You probably have heard someone say, ‘I am the one wearing the shoes, and I know where it pinches.’ The person is invariably telling you to feel the way he is feeling!  

Lee Harper says, “You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it“ (Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1960).

How many of us know that the bright daylight of the sun is not all bright white light? The sunlight splits into seven colours: violet, indigo, blue, green, orange, and red. We usually call it VIBGYOR. When we mix all these colours, we get the WHITE sunlight. Here, you see the bright daylight looking radiantly bright, but in truth, it contains seven colours. In the same way, someone might look good outwardly when he is sad and troubled in many ways within.  

Therefore, we are often wrong in our judgment or simply presumptuous without regard to the other person’s feelings. For instance, if someone tells you he is hungry and does not have money to eat, don’t look at him and say, ‘you can’t be hungry; you look well fed already’! What if he is not lying? Such error of judgment on our part could evoke God’s judgment on us. 

Empathy is the ability to identify and understand another person’s feelings. How empathetic are we? Don’t get caught up in your feelings without stopping to consider the other person’s feelings. We do that often when we are in arguments. But arguments are emotionally driven. For us, our views are the best! Now stop to think; What if the other person is right? Remember, opinions are not facts! Memories aren’t flawless, and anger clouds judgment. 

Therefore, the next time you get all emotional and into a heated argument, try to stop and see where the person is coming from. “Put on their shoes and walk in them.” It may help you identify with them better, and it will give you a chance to be Christ-like in showing compassion to them. 

PRAYER

 In the name of Jesus Christ, Father, I pray for a loving and kind heart to see others from the point of their weaknesses. Replace my heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Let my heart be a fertile ground for the seed of love to grow. AMEN.  

FURTHER READING: Matthew 9:36; Ephesians 5:1-2; Romans 12:15;1 Peter 3:8