Part 3, Chapter 36
Shoes. To walk in someone’s shoes, that is a feat. We have heard it before that to understand someone; we should walk in their shoes. St. Francis De Sales is basically recommending the same thing today. “Always put yourself in your neighbor’s place, and put him into yours, and then you will judge fairly” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 144). It is easy to find fault with our neighbors, friends, family and especially those we don’t like. We so often are easy upon ourselves and those we like when we do something bad, but if it were someone we don’t like who does a similar thing, we are very hard on them. St. Francis De Sales says, “We find fault with our neighbor very readily for a small matter, while we pass over great things in ourselves…We are eager to deal out strict justice to others, but to obtain indulgence for ourselves” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 144). Thus we should be trying to place ourselves in their shoes. We should try to see things from the others perspective and as St. Francis De Sales says earlier, we should do so always with charity.
Thus we need to use reason. We need to put on our thinking cap. If I were doing the same thing, would I respond in the same way as I am thinking of doing to my neighbor? “Be sure then often to examine your dealings with your neighbor, whether your heart is right towards him, as you would have his towards you, were things reversed—this is the true test of reason” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 145). So in the end, if we can put ourselves in their shoes it would be a good thing. Thus we should follow the “Golden Rule,” do unto others and you would want done unto you. If I want mercy toward myself, than I need to treat my neighbor with mercy and so forth. This is why we walk in another’s shoes, so we can change our perspective and so be more loving toward them.