The Six Blind Men

Six blind men visit the palace of the Rajah and encounter an elephant for the first time.  As each touches the animal with his hands, he announces his discoveries.

The first blind man put out his hand and touched the side of the elephant.  “How smooth!  An elephant is like a wall.” 

The second blind man put out his hand and touched the trunk of the elephant.  “How round!  An elephant is like a snake.” 

The third blind man put out his hand and touched the tusk of the elephant.  “How sharp!  An elephant is like a spear.” 

The fourth blind man put out his hand and touched the leg of the elephant.  “How tall!  An elephant is like a tree.” 

The fifth blind man reached out his hand and touched the ear of the elephant.  “How wide!  An elephant is like a fan.” 

The sixth blind man put out his hand and touched the tail of the elephant.  “How thin!  An elephant is like a rope.”

An argument ensued, each blind man thinking his own perception of the elephant was the correct one.  The Rajah, awakened by the commotion, called out from the balcony.  “The elephant is a big animal,” he said.  “Each man touched only one part.  You must put all the parts together to find out what an elephant is like.”

·         It is easy to judge people based upon only one part of their lives, the part which we see- I think it is important to realize that there are parts which we do not see.

·         It is easy to focus only upon the areas in which we disagree and in doing so we miss all the other areas in which we might agree.

·         It is easy to condemn others based upon what we think we see when the reality is that there are many things in that person’s life that we will never see.

May this not be true-

”The Christian Church is the only army that shoots its own wounded"

Instead let this be true-

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32 KJV