Choosing to Thrive in My Circumstances
Part V
Choose Kindness — Every Gesture Matters
Jesus said,
“Love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return;
and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High;
for He is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”
Good morning Prayer Team!
We all have experienced rude drivers, the people who just won’t let you in even though they aren’t going to make the green light. We all have experienced dealing with rude people, who make your blood pressure go up when you see their name light up your caller ID or when they come into a room. We’ve all see the person who gets snippy with the waiter or the bank teller. We’ve all thought to ourselves when seeing people like this, “Really?! Seriously?!” We all have these experiences, probably on a daily basis.
I often think to myself when I experience these things or see someone else going through a same experience, “Can’t you show a little kindness?” And I wonder, if everyone showed a little more kindness, if it would work like a snowball effect—kindness would beget more kindness. I’m sure that it would.
We are so used to people being rude when driving that it is easy to become rude like everyone else. If kindness was the way of the road, then “peer pressure” would beget more kindness on the road. So, if you are kind, others are more likely to be kind.
What if others are not kind? After all, we don’t show kindness only to be shown kindness in return. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:35-36 that God is kind even to the ungrateful and the selfish. He is kind even to those who don’t deserve it. Following His example, we should be as well. We should be kind even to those who don’t deserve it. Because all of us are unkind at times. If we expect God to be kind in overlooking our ingratitude and selfishness (and these are the root causes of our sins that we hope He is kind enough to forgive), then we need to be kind to those around us as well.
Kindness should be our personal goal, whether it is returned or not. If we each make it a goal to be kind—to be kind drivers, to use kind words towards one another, to kindly overlook wrongs instead of trying to get even—then kindness is going to blossom from us and is going to spread to those around us. So, be kind, even to the ungrateful and the selfish. And be kind especially to the ones you love. Don’t make them repositories for your negativity and hostility. Instead, make them recipients of your kindness, which will encourage them and ultimately benefit you as well.
