“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” – Harold S. Kushner
Kindness is certainly one of the virtues that we see disappearing in our culture. At least I have. It came to a head with me back during and after the election of 2016. Back then, I used to get on FB daily to chat with folks, just to have a positive influence in others’ lives and inspire careful thinking. Within a few weeks after the election, I ended up essentially banning myself from social media because I began to carry around in my body the tension that arose from the conversations I was having. So many people were now acting mean. Human beings have always had differing ideas about things…always, but up until that point in my experience, people still treated one another with a modicum of respect and certainly with kindness – even when they disagreed. That, however, went by the wayside in many many cases.
But it goes both ways. There is one fellow in particular that was constantly disagreeing with me and it became more and more vitriolic – to the point of me seriously wanting to block him. Then one day he mentioned that he had become seriously ill and was in extended treatment. When I heard that, everything changed. This fellow was no longer just a naysayer and an intellectual bully… he was a human being with struggles and was weighed down with major life issues. When I read that, all the darkness went away. Now all I could do was send words of comfort and support. All I could do was show kindness and pray fro him. It made no difference to me how he responded – that was not the point.
I encourage you to show kindness in all your dealings. People kinda like it, don’t they?
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Eph. 4:32
Don’t practice random acts of kindness… practice regular and consistent acts of kindness instead.
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For His glory,
Jim