A Little More Kindness, Please

Romans 12:17 "Do not repay anyone evil for evil...." v.20-21 "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink...Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Our world could use a lot more kindness. I started my day at the chiropractor, hoping he could once again fix my back. I felt much better after leaving his office but by the time I changed for work and started my morning commute, the joy I had experienced was pretty much gone. It's a sad world we live in these days. Most people are out for #1 without ever thinking of the consequences or the people they hurt along the way. It saddens me to think of what this world will be like when my children are grown. I wonder why it's so difficult for people to be kind and to take a moment out of their day to do something nice for another person.

I saw a wonderful quote today on the back of someone's shirt. It read, "If I have to choose between being right or being kind, I choose being kind everytime". I sat for a moment staring at that quote thinking how much I like to be right, how good it feels to be right. I admit, I like knowing things and feeling important. Sometimes, I like to prove a point by being right. Now I wonder how many people I have unknowingly hurt because I have felt the need to be right.

After my marriage crisis, I struggled with being kind to my husband and honestly, I struggled with being kind to my children. I was overly critical and extremely bitter. One night my daughter asked me, "Mom why don't you like me very much?". Hearing those words broke my heart because I love this little girl with all of my heart. She is my first born, my perfect angel and she doesn't even know how much I love her and value her. I vowed that night to show her kindness and unconditional love. Now, I try very hard to lift her up with my words instead of tearing her down. I've seen a difference in her attitude as well as my own.

What would happen if we intentionally extended kindness to those around us? When someone cuts us off in traffic, we just let it go. When someone is rude, we respond with compassion. When someone talks bad about us, we say a good word about them. When someone gets angry with us, we demonstrate patience. A little kindness goes a long way. Think about how much better we feel when someone has been kind to us.

When we encounter another person, we don't really know what they are going through. We haven't walked in their shoes and we don't know what life has thrown at them. Would it really hurt us to cut people some slack and extend a little kindness? Remember Paul's instructions in 1 Thessalonians 5:15, "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else." Next time let's do our best to respond with kindness and compassion instead of the alternative.