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.
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