You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view --- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it," -- Atticus Finch

Walk a mile in my shoes is an idiom that means you should try to understand someone before criticizing them.  And as I look at the definition of what it means to understand someone, I realize that it means to personally interpret, or discern the other person.

I believe that God calls each of us to do our best to understand one another.  I read in Scripture that God asks us to love one another, but to do this we must learn who that person is.  I wonder how many of us take the time to really get to know the people in our lives?  We learn just a little about someone and then we tend to be lazy and fill in the blanks with judgement, criticism and opinions that many times are far from reality.

How much better would our relationships be if we spent more time getting to know what makes another person tick?  Do you really know what their likes and dislikes are?  What motivates them or what frustrates them?  What are they passionate about?  And what do they struggle with silently?

Our world would be so much better and more harmonious if we would spend some time just getting to know one another.  Who do you think you know – but don’t really have a clue about?  Maybe you should take some time to get to know the real person!