A man got a flat tire in front of a mental hospital. One of the patients watched through the fence as the man removed the flat tire from his car. He put the spare on the lug bolts and began to look around for the lug nuts. The mental patient from inside the fence called to him saying they had rolled off down the sewer.

“Now what am I going to do?” the man fumed. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes.”

The man who had been watching from behind the fence suggested, “Why don’t you take one lug nut off each of the other wheels and use them?”

The man took his advice and was ready to go in minutes, but first he went to the fence to thank the stranger for help.

“You know this is strange,” he said. “There you are a patient in a mental hospital, yet you can tell me how to fix my car.”

A smile came across the patient’s face. “I’m just crazy. I’m not stupid!”

Sometimes we have preconceived notions about people. We make judgements about people because of their physical or mental impairments. We may even think we’re better than others because of the amount of money they have or the place where they live. Remember, the higher we lift ourselves up, the harder we hit when we fall.

Proverbs 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.