the making of KINDNESS…

The other day I overheard a commentator on tv say “Let’s bring kindness back.” I loved the sentiment and overarching theme of the idea and zealously thought…  let’s start a campaign. What if we actually could make America KIND again? 

Now before those whose feelings are not so warm-and-fuzzy towards President Trump (or for those who love him for that matter) get too excited, I’m not wishing to hijack the campaign slogan to make a political statement. I’m simply advocating for a kinder, gentler America. 

The lack of kindness in America has become so pervasive; it is almost non-existent. Just scroll through your Facebook page on any given day and you’ll see what I mean. These are our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues, and (ouch) our fellow Christians. And the ‘buck’ doesn’t stop with the republicans nor does it stop with democrats, either. It stops with every, single one of us. 

I find it is the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… Small acts of kindness and love. –  J.R.R. Tolkien 

We are responsible for what we accept and what we consume. And we, alone, are responsible for what we project and who we are. So if you preach tolerance but ‘unfriend’ a dissenter, are you merely a clashing cymbal?  If you preach love but judge another, are you any better!?  “Without tolerance there is no love and without love there is no tolerance. One begets the other.” – unknown 

Practicing kindness stretches us to understand each other. Better understanding leads to compassion. And compassion leads to love. And love in the face of hate is the greatest (and hardest) kind of love. Jesus did this. 

”Kindness does not require us to be blind to facts or live in fancies, but it does require us to cherish a habit of goodwill, ready to show pity if sorrow appears, and slow to turn away even if hostility appears.” – Alexander Maclaren 

“Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

(1 John 3:18)

One last thought… Would Jesus bake a cake?  Would Jesus refuse to serve (or honor) one by whom he felt betrayed?