Before You Judge

Before you weigh a neighbor’s soul,

Let silence guard your tongue;

For truth is deeper than the tale

That hurried lips have flung.

A glance can lie, a whisper bend

The story from its frame;

And hearts that rush to render law

May wound a righteous name.

The eye sees only passing scenes,

A fragment of the whole;

But God alone can read the scars

That travel through a soul.

Be slow to build a verdict quick

From shadows on the wall;

For mercy waits where patience walks,

And love considers all.

Remember how the Savior stood

While stones were raised on high;

He looked beyond the crowd’s demand

And heard a sinner’s cry.

So pause before the gavel falls,

Let grace refine your view;

The measure that you give to men

Will yet return to you.

Walk gently then with humble heart,

Let kindness be your guide;

For many stories live unseen

Behind the faults we hide.

And when you judge, judge slow and wise—

With mercy in your sight;

For heaven weighs the heart of man,

Not rumors in the night.