The Fabric and the Flaw

In a screen play, one of the characters expressed bitter disillusionment because of the supposed prejudice of a judge in whose court a case was being tried. And so this disillusioned person condemned the whole system of due process of law, because of what he thought to be the unfairness of one individual.

At this point in the play a wise and seasoned lawyer said this isn’t the fault of the principle, this is merely the opinion of one person. And speaking of the biased, unfair judge, he said: “He’s not the fabric, he’s the flaw.”

Many times we have to remind ourselves of this⎯the acts of one person don’t invalidate principles. There are those who would condemn the whole country because of the acts of individuals in it; those who would condemn the law because it is sometimes unfairly applied by fallible people; there are those who would condemn a company or corporation because of one unpleasant or incompetent person.

We may at times misjudge a group, a family, a business, a church, a city, a whole society, because of disappointment in one particular person. The laws, rules, ideals, the basic principles of an institution may be good, whereas individuals associated with it may have many faults and failings. And many have alienated themselves from something they earnestly needed because of the acts of an individual.

There are those even who would condemn or deny God because of confusion in the affairs of men; those who will say: “Why should a just God allow this?”⎯forgetting that God gives counsel, commandments, principles, which, in using their own free agency, people often fail to follow.

It is important to distinguish between the principle and the person. Honesty is an unassailable principle, but all men are not honest.

All organizations and institutions have some who are good, some who are better, some who are not the best. And men sometimes alienate themselves from the finest things of life by failing to distinguish between the principle and the person. Principles are one thing; people are another; and in judging we should distinguish between the two, remembering: “He’s not the fabric, he’s the flaw.”