There but for the grace of God go I

[Gary Childress]

I used to interpret this as a saying, if I were in the shoes of another, then I'd probably do the same as they did. But maybe it means more along the lines of rather than celebrate the punishing of another, remember that God may punish us as well.

Or what does this old proverb mean?

[Impenitent]

it means stuff happens everywhere

some are better dancers...

-Imp

[Walker]

I used to interpret this as a saying, if I were in the shoes of another, then I'd probably do the same as they did. But maybe it means more along the lines of rather than celebrate the punishing of another, remember that God may punish us as well.

Or what does this old proverb mean?

It means that there is always someone who has it worse than you, so thank your guardian angel for the undeserved protection from that worse situation.

[Gary Childress]

I used to interpret this as a saying, if I were in the shoes of another, then I'd probably do the same as they did. But maybe it means more along the lines of rather than celebrate the punishing of another, remember that God may punish us as well.

Or what does this old proverb mean?

It means that there is always someone who has it worse than you, so thank your guardian angel for the undeserved protection from that worse situation.

Yes. It does seem like there is "always worse" out there. I asked ChatGPT about the phrase's origins and it seems to originate with an English protestant who was executed for his beliefs by the Catholic Church. He supposedly watched the execution of another man while in his cell awaiting his own judgement and is said to have stated the phrase above (except he inserted his name where the "I" is) in response to the other man's execution. It's amazing that someone would still believe in a loving God when faced with something like that. The God of the Bible seems to be the great punisher and the Devil is the great tempter. Perhaps Christianity is a product of archaic peoples who lived in brutal times? But then God turns around with Christ and forgives instead of punishes. An amazing story, the Bible is.

But not to believe in the Holy veracity of the Bible is still the greatest crime of all. Perhaps we are still not so different from our ancestors and it is still the same world our ancestors lived in, except human beings have been tamed to a greater extent. The brutal excesses of archaic civilizations must have been a startling development among people who traced their origins to nomadic tribes and foragers, as sedentary civilization began to take hold.

I wonder where the civilization of archaic peoples came from? Was it an act of God?

[accelafine]

It means, ''It could have been worse, it could have been me''. You hear it all the time. When something horrible but newsworthy happens idiots get interviewed and they always say the same thing; ''It could have been me''. It's bizarre to me. How clueless and self absorbed can people be? Meteorite hits house and all the occupants are killed in a blazing inferno. Idiot neighbour is interviewed for the TV news. Idiot neighbour says, ''It could have been me''. Yeah neighbour, I'm sure your dead neighbours are saying, 'It should have been you'' from their graves.

[Gary Childress]

It means, ''It could have been worse, it could have been me''. You hear it all the time. When something horrible but newsworthy happens idiots get interviewed and they always say the same thing; ''It could have been me''. It's bizarre to me. How clueless and self absorbed can people be? Meteorite hits house and all the occupants are killed in a blazing inferno. Idiot neighbour is interviewed for the TV news. Idiot neighbour says, ''It could have been me''. Yeah neighbour, I'm sure your dead neighbours are saying, 'It should have been you'' from their graves.

Now that is funny. Thank you.

[Walker]

Or what does this old proverb mean?

It could mean that “the other” didn’t hear his guardian angel telling him to turn a fraction at the appropriate microsecond and dodge the bullet (or chucked spear if the proverb is really old).

The explanation of hearing the guardian angel at the crossroads can also be scientifically explained as “luck” or “coincidence,” and not hearing the guardian angel can be scientifically explained as “nonsense.”

[Immanuel Can]

Or what does this old proverb mean?

It's actually an expression of compassion, a reminder to oneself not to think oneself better than others. It means, "If it had not been for the unmerited favour (grace) given to me by God, I am no better than the next unfortunate person, and could easily have been him or her." It's about the equal worth and dignity of all persons, regardless of their current plight.

It's the sort of line one says when one meets a street person and is contemplating whether you should do anything to help him. It's a reminder that if you were he -- and you could have easily been, but for God's kindness -- you would be no less deserving of help than you are right now; so he is deserving of help, regardless of the pathetic state he has fallen into.