Kindness Bridges Chasms

KINDNESS BRIDGES CHASMS

We come now to our last step in growth in kindness.
Since kindness is power, I’m going to exercise this kind of power and only this kind of power, in every situation. Many wonder if kindness is power. They try to rule situations by threats. But threats soon wear out. No one is ever really changed by threats. Only by kindness can people be changed. Look back over your life and see who are the people who have influenced you and how. You’ll find kindliness at the basis of all influence over you.

A German pastor stood looking out over the ruined city of Frankfurt, now slowly rising again. His eyes were wet with tears as he told me of a pastor and his yound people who came to Germany from America for the summer to help rebuild the ruins. They were obviously not used to this hard manual labor, but they heroically toiled beside German laborers. Some of the girls, dead tired at eventide would throw themselves upon their beds and go straight to sleep. The German workmen were at first non-communicative, but gradually they saw the motives behind it all. Then one day, said the pastor, he saw a German workman take out of his pocket a piece of precious cake and offer it to the pastor. It seemed to echo the word of Jesus so long ago; “Take, eat.” “And there,” said the pastor, “I saw the chasm of hate and feat bridged – bridged by this incarnate kindness to the pastor and his group.” Kindness is power. Use no other.

Some Quakers were feeding people in Poland during the war. A Polish woman came up and said to them, “You feed everybody?” “Atheists, Poles, Russians, Germans?” “Yes.” “Jews, Catholics, Protestants?” “Yes.” She drew a deep sign and said, “Well, I knew there ought to be people in the world like that, but I didn’t believe there were.” And that proved to be power. For as someone said, “There were only two who came out at the end of the war with enhanced reputations – Christ and the Quakers.” And they both used kindness against the background of hate and force.

Gracious Father, help me this day to be clothed with kindliness. May the first thing people see in me be kindliness. Amen.

AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: God lets His kindly rain fall on the evil and the good. I also shall rain kindliness on all, regardless.

We Must Make Choices

The Risk in Being a Good Samaritan

There is almost always a risk in being a Good Samaritan. To stop by the side of the road, even when there appears to be no physical danger, always includes choosing for one thing and against another. Doing the right thing often requires neglecting something else that may be urgent. That neglect may irritate someone.

My Administrative Assistant arrived late one morning, which bothered me. She explained that her nephew was seriously ill and she had stopped to bring some food and encouragement. My slight irritation was unimportant because she was doing the right thing, while neglecting her office job. That is the way it is---you can’t really care very extensively without bothering or neglecting something or someone else; at least some of the time. We must make choices.

Feedback on Care and Kindness Conference

I enoyed the Care and Kindness Conference. It was one of the best experiences I have had in my life. To be on the grounds of the church is an inspiration in itself. All the seminars we attended were beneficial as well as intructional. My wife thought they were well done and the whole thing was put together in a professional manner....We also enjoyed having the chance to meet new people from different places..... It was indeed a very refreshing time.

A Wonderful Possibility

Bringing Heaven to Earth    Jesus prayer is challenging. Think about these words: “… your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” What an enormous project that is, to bring the goodness of heaven to life on earth.

Those words get at what Christian living is about. We are here to make the world a better place. It is more about bringing heaven to earth than about waiting to go to heaven. In heaven we will feel good about ourselves, confident, unafraid, feel loved and valued all the time. We will love everyone and understand life, nature and history, and a lot more. On earth as it is in heaven means working at making life more peaceful, loving, and secure. That is our task as followers of Jesus. What a wonderful assignment and every small, medium, or large act of kindness, creativity, diligence, and perseverance contributes to the goal.

Care Must be Noticeable

Care Must be Noticeable
We cannot claim to care just because we get a stomach ache or headache over someone’s difficult or sad circumstances. Care is action toward, for, on behalf of, the grieving or hurting soul. It includes moving into the uncomfortable territory.

Feelings must be translated into words, gifts, actions, tears, audible prayers, a walk across the street. Jesus is God become a person; “the Word (logos) became flesh.”  God put his love into physical, visible, tangible form. Jesus is God’s model for our lives—“dying for others.”

The Gift of Tears

“The Gift of Tears”

Sol Nunez told how he once shared a painful emotional wound with a friend. “She began to cry”, he said with amazement. “Nobody ever cried for my pain before”, explained Sol. “Her tears healed me a lot more than if she had read many Bible verses with me or even if she just prayed. It made me feel she understood what I was feeling and that my response was acceptable”.

Reflection: Too often we try to stop people from crying. We respond as if tears are a sign we have gone beyond an appropriate boundary. So we back off or grab a box of tissues to dry the water up as quickly as possible. Tears are a gift of God. When they flow toxins are emptying out and well-being is enhanced. Tears express our feelings powerfully in ways mere words cannot. Words often conceal. Tears are honest.

In Biblical times families would bring in gifted weepers to prime the pump of tears in the others. They would stand and wail causing others to weep. Tears were recognized as needed and appropriate not as an unwanted or embarrassing bother.

So Sol Nunez recognized the rare gift he received when his friend wept with him Her tears gave him permission to cry more. Plus her tears spoke deeply of her empathy and compassion for him. Her tears were a profound message of care and kindness too rare in our very verbal world.