“I also could speak like you if you were in my place.” (Job 16:4).

One of the greatest gifts I can give to someone, is to create in him the confidence that I am feeling what he is feeling; that I understand what it is like to be in her shoes. It is relatively easy to supply glib counsel to someone who is deeply troubled. It takes a great deal of moral effort to empathize. Next time I encounter someone weighed down with worry or sorrow, it will be better for that person of I consider what I might feel if our relative circumstances were reversed.