Funny Walk a Mile in My Shoe
I was walking through a rough part of the east side. I asked a member of our church who once lived in this neighborhood and a former gang member to show me around. As he pointed out different things from his not-too-distant past, I saw something shining in the sun. I leaned over and picked it up. It was a shell casing for a .38 caliber bullet. With raised eyebrows, I showed it to Miguel, who replied with a smile, "It's the weapon of choice around here, Pastor." As Miguel and I talked about his time in "the hood" and his time as a drug dealer, he shared something that significantly impacted me. He said:
When I was growing up, my parents chose honest work. They both worked 50 hours a week for less than minimum wage. They worked hard and were not treated well. I watched my parents work themselves to death for $400 a week to provide a home and food for us. They were rarely home, and we raised ourselves. It was terrible. Then I learned how easy it was for me to earn $400 in one day selling dope. After seeing what my parents went through, why would I do it too? It wasn't about finding honest work, it was about low-risk and high payout for survival.
I learned something first-hand about why many young people choose the wrong path, because sometimes it makes sense! It would make sense if the Word of God did not shape your life. It makes sense if you genuinely are trying to survive. It makes sense when you witness your family suffer the harsh reality of being a minority with few options. Without Godly values learned at home and an environment that deeply instills in you what is right and why it's right, it would likely make a lot of sense to us.
I was talking to a young mother on welfare in a separate conversation. She told me that when she needs to increase her income, she "just has another baby," which could mean an additional $550 per month. With her culture, environment, and value set, this made sense.
These two conversations eventually led me to write my dissertation on how to appreciate cultures and micro-cultures better when counseling. An essential part of my research revealed that most pastors do little preparation before counseling someone of a different ethnicity or culture. They assume that being well-read in Scripture is all that is necessary. We must understand why these people do what they do. We must gain great empathy for their perspective before we can lovingly and effectively counsel, redirect and encourage.
But it's not just pastoral counseling. All of us have opportunities to speak Truth into people's lives. We must remember that their point of view is credible, sensible, and built upon real-life experiences as much as yours and mine are. If we offer Truth from a naïve perspective that only sees things as we do, we risk missing an opportunity to apply God's Word to someone who is hurting effectively. I've never sold drugs. I'm not a minority. My family was not poor. I was blessed to have many opportunities that Miguel did not, but understanding his journey greatly impacted how I discipled him further. How often have we "sized people up" just by how they look, act, speak, or walk without saying a word to them? We have no idea!
In John chapter 4, Jesus had much to say to the woman at the well, although she was quite different than Him. But first, he spoke to her, understood her, and allowed her to share. Because Jesus took the time to understand her, he used her situation, and many believed in Christ that day! I encourage you to take the time and dig deep to understand someone's journey before stepping into their life to share the Truth.
Joe South, an American poet and singer can say it best:
If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour,
If we could find a way to get inside each other's mind,
If you could see yourself through my eyes instead of your own.
I believe you'd be surprised to see that you'd been blind.
Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes,
Yeah, before you abuse, criticize and accuse, walk a mile in my shoes.
Joe South 1970
Source: https://billbranks.substack.com/p/walk-a-mile-in-my-shoes
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