How Fine the Line

It is a dramatic and terrifying fact that a man can do a thing right a thousand times, and then when he does it wrong just once, tragedy comes. Except for some very narrow escapes, perhaps any of us or all of us could be numbered with those whom we pity or with those whom we condemn. And we may never know how narrowly we may have missed the fate of someone who has had a terrible tragedy. This thought is unforgettably expressed in the comment commonly credited to John Bradford, Chaplain to Edward VI of sixteenth century England. Seeing a condemned man marched off to his death, and knowing of the narrow margins by which men are often made and unmade, he exclaimed: “There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.” Significantly he himself later met a similar unfortunate fate. There is often only a very fine line between winning and losing. In a race the difference may be only the shaving of a second. In business, the difference may be only one wrong decision among a thousand right ones. In a contest, the difference may be only one judge. In an accident, the difference may be only one small mechanical mishap or one small error of judgment. In so many things we do in life, there is an exceedingly fine line between safety and sorrow. We ourselves may not see it at the moment. But often others see it, and are frightened for us. And afterwards we are frightened for ourselves. This is one reason why parents are so often afraid for children. Parents have the experience and perspective to see how fine the line can be between safety and sorrow, between success and failure. The differences in cause may sometimes seem inconsequential, but the differences in result may be eternally great. And we should have compassion for the man who has met misfortune, for the man who has made a mistake, for the man who narrowly missed being what he might have been—and we should never forget that “there, but for the grace of God,” am I. And the thought should help to keep us humble and help to keep us holding hard and fast to the right side of every decision, and to the right side of every road.