We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak (Romans 15:1, NAS)

ONE DAY a student asked anthropologist Margaret Mead for the earliest sign of civilization in a given culture. He expected the answer to be a clay pot or perhaps a fish hook or grinding stone. Her answer was "a healed femur."
Mead explained that no healed femurs are found where the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, reigns. A healed femur shows that someone cared. Someone had to do that injured person's hunting and gathering until the leg healed. The evidence of compassion is the first sign of civilization.
We have seen it both ways--some broken hearts don't find compassion, and others find great tenderness.
But I focus on instances where people who are hurting from their mistakes are supported and strengthened by the treatment they ...