​Put Yourself in Someone's Shoes
 

We have all heard the expression, “put yourself in someone else’s shoes.” It's simple yet profound and carries a powerful spiritual challenge for us. Dictionary definitions describe it this way: to imagine yourself in another person’s situation in order to understand how they feel, think, or respond before forming judgment. At its heart, the phrase calls us to slow down, look beyond ourselves in order to truly consider the experiences of others.

This idea is Scriptural. In 1 Peter 3:8, believers are instructed, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.” The phrase “having compassion” comes from the Greek words σύν (syn) meaning “with, together,” and πάσχω (paschō) meaning “to suffer, experience, or feel.” Literally, it means, “to feel with someone.” It is sharing in another person’s feelings or sufferings — possessing a fellow-feeling (shared feeling) that responds with compassion. That is why the biblical command aligns so naturally with the idiom of putting yourself in another person’s shoes.

To put yourself in someone’s shoes, then, is more than a simple, yet profound expression. It is entering into another person’s experience so as to share in their perspective and respond with compassionate understanding. Scripture gives us a vivid example of this in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Both the priest and the Levite came upon the man who had been beaten and left for dead and saw him (vv. 31–32), yet they looked through him and past him. They did not place themselves in his situation or share in his suffering, and so they passed by on the other side. The Samaritan, however, saw him and “had compassion” (v. 33). Unlike the others, he felt the man’s pain and responded by showing compassion (vv. 34–35). He didn't just feel; he acted.

Having compassion for one another does not always come naturally. This is where the idiom fits so well with the call of 1 Peter 3:8. We must intentionally, on purpose, train ourselves to put ourselves in other people’s shoes as much as possible. When we do, we learn to suffer, experience, and feel with one another genuinely.