Kindness

Dear Boys and Girls,

I stood in a long line at the check-out registers and tried not to look at the time. I knew, though, that I had little time left before I had to be finished in order to be able to pick up the children at school on time. A woman several carts ahead of me rolled her eyes and sighed. Couldn’t Aldi have opened more registers, so the line would not be so long? I rubbed my little boy’s head and said softly, trying to reassure myself, “Almost there, buddy, you’re being a good boy…”

The woman directly in front of me turned around and glanced at us. When her turn came to place her items on the belt at the register, she pulled her cart to the side. “You go ahead,” she offered, motioning. I looked at the few items in her basket and the mound of food crammed into my cart.

“Oh, that’s okay,” I assured her, “I have so many things…”

The woman smiled and shook her head. “No, you go,” she insisted. “You have a baby…”

Gratefully, I pushed my cart ahead of hers. “Thank you, I really didn’t think I’d make it to school on time to pick up my kids.” My heart felt a bit lighter at this unexpected kindness. I nodded my thanks again, and the woman’s dark eyes shone back as if to say, It’s alright. This is what we’re supposed to do.

After paying, I quickly began to bag all my groceries. Another customer was next to me, bagging hers. She looked up. Her gray eyes held a determined look.

“I’ll be finished in a minute, and then I’m going to come and help you,” she declared, looking at my overflowing cart. Together, we finished bagging my groceries. I looked at my watch. “Thank you.” I heaved a sigh of relief. “I’ll be just on time to school now.”

The kindness offered by these two ladies had warmed my heart. I loaded my groceries into the car. An elderly man stopped and looked hesitantly at my empty cart. “Would you like my cart?” I asked. He nodded and began to fumble in his pocket for the quarter that I would have received if I returned the cart to the store. I shook my head. “No, go ahead,” I urged, happy to be able to pass along a little kindness myself. “Just take it.” As I drove off to school, I thought to myself, Kindness spreads.

I am sure that your parents have raised you to be kind to others. There are several examples of kindness in the Bible, also. Think of David who was so kind to Mephibosheth. Boaz was kind, too, in his dealings with Ruth. This kindness made both Mephibosheth and Ruth feel humble and glad. They did not feel that it was something they deserved. It made them very thankful. When Paul and the other prisoners were shipwrecked, the natives of the island where they washed ashore were also very kind. They built them a fire with which to warm themselves.

There are texts in the Bible which speak of how kindness spreads. One kindness led to another kindness in return. Listen, for example, to what David said, “I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me.” We read that kindness can mean to give someone something or to speak to a stranger, but we even read that God’s people consider it a kindness when another person reproves them in love and tells them where their mistake lies.

The Bible goes further than that. God’s Word speaks of being kind as a command. It is not something you may or should do. It is something you must do because the Bible tells us: “Put on…kindness…” (Colossians 3), “Add…brotherly kindness” (2 Peter 1), and “Be ye kind one to another” (Ephesians 4).

Kindness spreads, but so does unkindness. How do you treat others? If you whisper a few spiteful words or send a quick nasty message about another person, do you know that your words will spread to another, and another, and yet another person? Do you say bad things about others? What if you could spread kindness, instead? You cannot take unkind words back once they spread, but kind words that spread, you do not ever have to take back!

Most of all, the Bible speaks of God’s kindness. It is merciful. It is great. It is everlasting. You will find some of these texts below in the quiz. Again, and again, the great God of heaven is slow to anger, putting away his wrath, and He promises through Christ, “with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee.” Can anyone understand how great His merciful kindness is? It is everlasting, unchanging, and unbreakable to those who are His. What a wonder it would be to belong to those people to whom He is so kind. Ask the Lord if He will grant you in your heart what was promised when you were baptized as a little baby: “His covenant bonds He will not sever…”

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