“Not understood. We gather false impressions,
And hug them closer as the days go by,
Till virtues seem to us transgressions;
And thus men rise and fall, and live and die,
Not understood.
“O God! That men should see a little clearer;
Or judge less harshly were they cannot see!
O God! That men should draw a little nearer
To one another; they’d be nearer thee, And understood.”
There are many of our Lord’s teachings which we do not take half seriously enough. For example, there is what Jesus says about judging others: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” This is more than a condemnation of uncharitable judging; it is also a revelation to us of the fact that our judgments of others come back into our own bosom. “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.”
The same teaching is found elsewhere in the Scriptures. We get back what we give out. This is true of our kindly thoughts and feeling towards others, as well as of judgments that are harsh and severe. We gather the harvest of our own sowing. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” is true in every phase of its application. The merciful shall obtain mercy, runs the beatitude.
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