Leontes' Mistake

The first three acts of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale seems to be a cautionary tale about the danger of being too quick to judge harshly. King Leontes, falsely suspecting his wife of infidelity, commits a series of injustices which bring ruin down on his whole household. Had he been more cautious and gathered evidence first, he would have seen that no wrongdoing was actually being done, and he could have saved quite a bit of heartache and several lives.

Let's not make Leontes' mistake. Let's not be quick to judge people of wrongdoing or to punish them for it. Rather, let us be careful, understanding, and if necessary, forgiving. It's generally not our place to judge others, much less punish them. If any sort of judgement and justice are necessary, let God and His appointed delegates handle it. As for the rest of us, we should be wise and forgiving.

King Leontes ruined his own life and several others by being too quick to judge. I hope that we won't make the same mistake.