As I turned to leave the man I was talking with offered to
give me a ride. It was very kind of him, and so when he was finished we headed
off to Wal-Mart (they didn’t have an auto department either). He offered to
take me someplace else, but by this time I had a friend coming to my rescue. In
a world where it is dangerous for adults to talk to stranger’s, kindness ruled
the day.
I began thinking of how I offer kindness to others. There
are many examples of unkindness that came to mind. Oh, not of me being unkind,
but examples of others who are unkind. You have probably experienced sitting
with people at a meal listening to them complain about the food, the price, the
server, and then walk away without leaving any sort of tip. I just don’t want
to be that kind of person.
Many years ago, Lisa and I decided to spread kindness in
peculiar ways. When we ate at a restaurant we would ask for the manager and
then tell them how awesome our serve was. We wouldn’t lie; if the service was
bad, we didn’t say anything (but we always left a good tip). Managers would
often come to our table and the first thing they would ask was, “is something
wrong?” After we would praise the employee managers would often (almost always)
say, “Yes, they are one of our best employees.”
In my last pastorate I was bi-vocational for a period of
time. I drove a delivery truck for a printing supply company. I was on the road
everyday all day. I witnessed more than a few bad drivers. One day I was
traveling down an eight lane divided boulevard. In front of me was a Keebler Truck.
I always drive the speed limit and this truck was doing the same. The driver
didn’t ride on people’s bumpers and when she/he needed to change lanes they
turned the signal on and waited for a space (I was impressed).
On the back of that truck was a phone number and the words “How’s
my driving?” So, I called the number. The woman who answered asked for the trailer
I.D., and her next words were, “What’s the problem?” I then explained there was
no problem, I just wanted to let someone know how good a driver the person was
and that someone should know. Her next words were, “Really?...Well I will
forward this to their dispatcher.”
Kindness seems to be so rare these days that people are flabbergasted
when someone actually is kind. It really isn’t all that hard to be kind. When
someone hurts you, it is possible to respond in kindness, even if you have to
let them know they did. The Bible tells us that God’s love is Kind. In 1
Corinthian 13:4-8 that kindness is explained. The Bible also tells us that the
world will know that we are like Christ by our love. Hopefully, that connection
is easy to make. If I don’t have God’s kind of love, I certainly am not like
Christ. Ouch, that hurts.
Just a thought.
Father in Heaven, I need your love. It came in flesh as your
Son, Jesus Christ. He not only revealed how you love, he taught us how to love,
and when he returned to you he gave your Holy Spirit who is love. I need your
Spirit to overthrow my bitterness, my selfishness, and my hatred, so that your
Holy Love will transform me by the renewing of my mind. In anticipation of your
positive response to my prayer, by faith I will do the work of love beginning
with kindness. Perhaps, as I show your loving kindness others will meet you
through me. Yeah, I think they will. Thank you Father, for being kind to me,
you have been abundantly merciful.
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