Somewhat apprehensively we began our journey and soon found ourselves admiring the beauties of the fruitful countryside and of the picturesque towns and villages. One afternoon as we were visiting a French village, we noticed ahead of us on the street a family of fellow tourists, laughing and joking together. As we watched their exuberant behavior, to our amazement, a bulging wallet fell unnoticed out of the pocket of one of the tourists.
We weren’t the only ones watching: a group of six youth—readily identifiable as immigrants—had also been observing from across the street. Like a pack of wolves after their prey, they converged on the wallet. I thought to myself What else can you expect? After all, they are a bunch of rascals.
One of the youth, holding the wallet high, ran toward the tourists, his fellows close behind him. “Excuse me, monsieur,” he said to the amazed tourist. “You lost your wallet; here it is.”
I hung my head in shame, chagrined at my too-eager willingness to prematurely judge others. The experience taught me an important lesson: we must look beyond the superficial stereotyping which influences too much of our thinking about the worth of those who seem on the surface to be different than we are. We must learn to look at others through the eyes of love, not as strangers and foreigners, but as individuals, fellow children of God, of one blood with us."
