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WHEN YOU JUDGE YOURSELF
Charles Allen, in his book Victories in the Valleys of Life (Fleming
H. Revell, 1981), tells the story of a man who, one wintry day, went
to traffic court in Wichita, Kansas, not knowing court had been
canceled because of a blizzard. A few days later he wrote this letter:
"I was scheduled to be in court February 23rd, at
12:15 p.m., concerning a traffic ticket. Well, I was
there as scheduled and, to my surprise, I was the
only one there. No one had called to tell me that the
court would be closed, so I decided to go ahead with
the hearing as scheduled, which meant that I had to be
the accuser, the accused and the judge. The citation
was for going 46 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour
zone. I had the speed alert on in my car, set for 44 miles
per hour; and as the accuser, I felt that I was going over
35 miles per hour, but as the accused, I know that I was
not going 46 miles per hour. As judge, and being the
understanding man that I am, I decided to throw it out of
court this time. But it had better not happen again."
He had a rare opportunity to judge himself and took full advantage. On
the other hand, we probably judge ourselves all day long. We may even
react more harshly to our own mistakes and errors than we would ever
react to those same shortcomings in others.
Two thousand years ago a Roman writer named Publilius Syrus observed,
"How unhappy are they who cannot forgive themselves." Whether dealing
with others or with ourselves, it usually helps to err on the side of
grace. Do you need to be gentler with yourself?
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Steve Goodier
Publisher@... is a professional
speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site for
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and Laughter at
http://LifeSupportSystem.com.
