In the popular book, “Blink,” the author, Malcolm Gladwell, explains why some doctors get sued and others don’t even though both make mistakes. He argues that the difference comes down to how the doctors treat their patients. Doctors that take time to converse with their clients, show care, concern and lend a listening ear, win over the patient’s affections, and if they make a mistake, the patients typically forgive them because they like them. Doctors who don’t take time to listen, care and address client fears become “the enemy” if a mistake is made, and they get sued.
Gladwell wrote:
What comes up again and again in malpractice cases is that patients say they were rushed or ignored or treated poorly. “People just don’t sue doctors they like,” is how Alice Burkin, a leading medical malpractice lawyer, puts it. “In all the years I’ve been in this business, I’ve never had a potential client walk in and say, ‘I really like this doctor, and I feel terrible about doing it, but I want to sue him.’
…“When a patient has a bad medical result, the doctor has to take the time to explain what happened, and to answer the patient’s questions—to treat him like a human being. The doctors who don’t are the ones who get sued,” Burkin continued. (pages 40-43)
Isn’t the above observation a moral lesson for life?
Jesus taught, “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” It’s true. When we are genuinely merciful to others as a rule, people are typically merciful back, even when we make a big mistake.
Mercy begets mercy.
God is the big Mercy of all, loving us no matter what we do--good or bad--without condition, without qualification, and without exception.
The more we love others unselfishly as God loves us unconditionally, the more love we see expressed in relationships we have with others. Forgiveness flows easier, understanding is built quicker and grudges have no chance to form.
No grudges equals no lawsuits. We can spend more time enjoying life that way, and a lot less time in court.
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