There is an old truism that says, "Never criticize the man who stumbles until you've worn his shoes." I remember when I was very young I had a pretty clear-cut view of right and wrong. As I grew older, I realized that it is not often easy to tell what is right or wrong, at least not where some other person is concerned. In the course of a lifetime, there are many occasions when the right course as it may appear to an outsider, is the wrong course when all the circumstances surrounding the situation come to light. Yet so many of us are fast to condemn another person on the basis of what appears to be. I have a friend who has taken it upon himself to stand judgment on the entire public morality. He has never learned compassion because frankly, he has never had occasion in his own life to require compassion and he has never needed the benefit of the doubt. Strangely, his life has been virtually trouble free. He's had a happy marriage and produced a large and healthy family. You would think this in itself would make him a happy, grateful and satisfied man, but instead he sees himself cast in the role of the Almighty, and is the first to condemn the person who falls from the straight and narrow. He seems to feel this sort of thing could never happen to him and could never happen to his family. I would hate to be as vulnerable as he is, for it's a long road without a turning, and surely there will be an occasion in his life when his friends and relatives will have to take a few things on trust and give him the benefit of the doubt. I have had many ups and downs in my life. I have often taken the unpopular course, but always I have done what I thought had to be done. This I think has made a bigger and better man of me for now I fully understand that along with black and white, there are many, many shades of gray, and I try very hard never to criticize the man who stumbles. You see, I've worn his shoes.
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