Daily Thought For July 8, 2020

Be Just And Fair

Reason is the special characteristic of humans, and yet it is a rare thing to find really reasonable people, since self-love often hinders right reason, and beguiles us without our realizing it into all manner of trifling, yet dangerous acts of injustice and untruth, which, like the little foxes in the Song of Songs, “damage our vines” (Sg 2:15). Precisely because they are trifling, people pay no attention to them, and, being numerous, they do untold harm. Let me give you some examples of what I mean.

We find fault with our neighbor very readily for small matters, while we pass over great things in ourselves. We strive to sell at an inflated price and buy with discounts. We are eager to deal out strict justice to others, but just as eager to obtain indulgence for ourselves. We expect a good interpretation to be put on all we say, but we are sensitive and critical of our neighbor’s words. We expect him to let us buy whatever we want of his, for we have the money, when it would be more reasonable to let him keep his possession, if he desires to do so, and for us to keep our gold. We are vexed with him because he will not accommodate us, while perhaps he has better reason to be vexed with us for wanting to disturb him. If we have a liking for any one particular thing, we despise all else, and reject whatever does not precisely suit our taste. If someone who works for us is unacceptable to us, or we have once caught him in error, he is sure to be wrong in our eyes whatever he may do, and we often block his efforts, and look haughtily on him, while, on the other hand, someone who happens to please us is always sure to be right. Sometimes even parents show unfair preference for a child endowed with personal gifts over one who has some physical imperfection. We put the rich before the poor, although the rich may be less worthy of our honor, and we even give preference to well-dressed people. We are strict in protecting our own rights, but we expect others to yield their own for our interests. We complain freely of our neighbors, but we do not like them to make any complaints about us. Whatever we do for them appears very great in our sight, but what they do for us counts as nothing. In a word, we have a very gentle, liberal, and courteous heart toward ourselves, and one which is hard, rigorous, and severe toward our neighbor. We have two scales, one weighted to measure our own goods to the best advantage, and the other to weigh our neighbors’ to the worst. Even Holy Scripture tells us that “those who tell lies to one another speak with deceiving lips and a double heart” (Ps 12:3).

Be just and fair in all you do. Always put yourself in your neighbor’s place, and put him into yours, and then you will judge fairly. Sell as you would buy, and buy as you would sell, and the buying and selling will both be honest. The acts of injustice I mentioned above seem small because they do not demand restitution, and we have, after all, only taken that which we can demand using the strict letter of the law; but, nevertheless, they greatly need to be corrected, since, while on the one hand they are mere cheating tricks, on the other, they offend against fairness and charity. No one ever loses by being generous, noble-hearted, and courteous. Be sure, then, to examine your dealings with your neighbor often, and see if your heart is just toward him, as you would have his heart just toward you, were things reversed—this is the true test of reason.

—Excerpt from Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 3: Chapter 36


Francis de Sales. (2012). Courage in Chaos: Wisdom from Francis de Sales. (K. Hermes, Ed.) (pp. 5–7). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.