The compass

There was a very good man who really looked at people.

1. 1

   The man in the tree

   There was a man everyone hated because he charged them too much. He was short, and he climbed a tree to see this good man pass by. The good man stopped, called him by his name and said: “Today I'm going to eat at your house.” Everyone grumbled. And that man changed! He gave back what he had overcharged and helped many people.

2. 2

   He sat with those nobody wanted

   He ate with the people nobody wanted. Some criticized him, but he didn't mind.

3. 3

   Whose fault is it?

   They saw a man who couldn't see since he was born. His friends asked: “Whose fault is it?” He said: “Nobody's.” And he helped him.

   He had no judging glasses. He looked at the person first. And when someone feels looked at like that, sometimes they change.

The compass

There was a man who changed history without an army, without money and without a title. What surprised people most about him was who he looked at.

1. 1

   The first stone

   A group wanted to punish a woman everyone condemned. He told them, in essence, that whoever had never done wrong should throw the first stone. One by one, they left.

2. 2

   He sat with those nobody wanted

   He ate with the people everyone despised. He was criticized for it.

3. 3

   What everyone knew about her

   A woman with a bad reputation anointed his feet with perfume. The host judged her in his head. He showed him what she had done that night.

4. 4

   The man in the tree

   A tax collector everyone hated climbed a tree to see him pass. He called him by name and went to eat at his house. That man gave back what he had stolen.

5. 5

   Whose fault is it?

   His friends saw a man born unable to see and asked whose fault it was. He said it was nobody's, and he helped him.

He never says that what's wrong is fine. But he always sees the person first.

The tax collector didn't change because of criticism: he had heard it for years. He changed the day someone looked at him differently.

The compass

There was a man who changed history without an army, without money and without a title. What surprised people most about him was who he looked at, and how he looked at them.

1. 1

   The first stone

   A group of men dragged in a woman everyone condemned. They wanted to punish her, and each one had a stone in his hand. They asked him what he thought. He bent down and started writing in the dirt. As they insisted, he stood up and told them, in essence, that whoever had never done wrong should throw the first stone. One by one, starting with the oldest, they left. When the two of them were alone, he didn't condemn her. He told her to go and start again.

2. 2

   He sat with those nobody wanted

   He sat down to eat with people everyone despised: tax collectors accused of being thieves and people with a bad reputation. Those who thought themselves good criticized him for it. He answered that doctors aren't there for the healthy, but for the sick.

3. 3

   What everyone knew about her

   He was having dinner at an important man's house. A woman with a bad reputation came in, knelt at his feet crying and anointed them with perfume. The host thought: “If he knew who she is, he wouldn't let her touch him.” He answered by telling him what she had done for him that night, and what the host had not done.

4. 4

   The man in the tree

   In one city lived a tax collector everyone hated: he had grown rich by charging too much. He was short, and to see him pass through the crowd he climbed a tree. He stopped right there, looked at him, called him by name and told him he was going to eat at his house that day. People grumbled: “He's going to stay with a thief.” After that meal, the tax collector announced he would give back what he had stolen, and more, and would give away half of what he had.

5. 5

   Whose fault is it?

   He was walking with his friends and they saw a man who had been born unable to see. His friends asked: “Whose fault is it? His, or his parents'?” He answered that it was nobody's. And he went over to help him.

1. 1

   What they have in common

   In no scene does he say that what's wrong is fine. But he always sees the person first, and what they did second.

   Others saw “the woman to punish”, “the thief”, “the one with a bad name”, “the one to blame”. He saw someone with a name, a story and the chance to start again.

2. 2

   Being seen changes people

   The tax collector didn't change because he was criticized: he had heard criticism for years. He changed the day someone looked at him differently.

   There's evidence of something similar. In one study, a conversation of about ten minutes, in which people were invited to remember when they themselves had been judged and to put themselves in the other person's place, reduced a prejudice. The effect was still there three months later. (Broockman & Kalla, 2016)