Vol.IX No.X Pg.8
December 1972

Stuff About Things

Robert F. Turner

Scriptures are not the only things that must be judged in context. Human relations are largely a series of interpretations of one another, and will be grossly in error unless we take our fellowmen in context. This is the principle back of the proverb: Judge a man only after you have walked a mile in his moccasins,

Sometimes the seeming chip on a brothers shoulder may actually be some burden you should help him bear. We do not seek to justify sin with psychology, nor deny individual responsibility before God; but there can be no righteous judgement apart from the whole story.

From Joe Creason (Louisville Courier Journal) (and if he doesnt stop telling Texas jokes I am going to leave off the credits) comes an illustration of my point. It seems an elderly mountain farmer in a mule-drawn wagon had been involved in an accident with an automobile. Now, he was suing the driver, claiming personal injuries.

But isnt it true that after the accident, the defendants attorney asked, you said you never felt better in your life?

Well, the claimant began, that morning I got up, hitched up my mule, put my hound dog in the wagon and...

Give us a yes or no answer to my question, the attorney interrupted.

At this point the judge stepped in and directed the lawyer to let the farmer answer in his own way.

Well, the claimant began again, that morning I got up, hitched up my mule, put my hound dog in the back of the wagon, and jest got over the rise in the road when this big car barreled into my rear end.

My mule was knocked to one side of the road, my hound dog to the other, and I was pinned under the seat. Directly a police came along, seen my mule had its leg broke, pulled out his pistol and shot it dead. He went over to my dog, seen it was hurt bad, and shot it in the head.

Then, the farmer continued, he come over to me and asked, Well, how are you feelin? and, shore enough, I said, I never felt better in my life !

Now, see what I mean by context?