Simple Kindness

2 Peter 1:7 (ESV)

And godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

Something amazing happened at a Major League Baseball park not long ago. No, there weren’t any records broken. In fact, the extraordinary event didn’t even take place on the field. It happened in the stands.

The whole scene unfolded on camera. At the end of the third inning, a player from the Milwaukee Brewers threw a ball into the stands to a young fan wearing their jersey. Also standing at the railing hoping for a ball was twelve-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks fan, Ian McMillan. When the ball came down, Ian reached out and caught it in his hat. Excited, he headed back to his seat. But that’s when Ian looked back and noticed how sad the younger boy was about not getting the ball. Without prompting from adults, Ian immediately turned, walked back to the younger fan, and handed him the ball.

It was an unusual display of selflessness and maturity. In the days that followed, news stations illustrated that fact by contrasting Ian’s behavior with that of adults. One man literally wrestled a ball away from a woman a few seats away. And, in another video, two men nearly got into a fist fight.

Maybe it strikes you like it does me that selfish behavior is so common that a simple act of kindness by a youngster at a ball game is enough to capture our attention. That’s why we need more examples like Ian to remind us of what’s really important in life. May our love for Christ make an impression on everyone around us simply because we’re quick to do what’s right toward other people.

Dear Lord, help us to look for ways to show kindness today. Thank You for being a great example of on that shows love. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Big Fathead?

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Two kids were talking one day. Marvin said, "That new kid in school is nothing but a big fathead!"

Matilda, in her refined way, softly said, "You shouldn't call people names like that. It’s rude. I never call people names."

Marvin shrugged and told her, "Well, I just got mad when he said you were stupid looking." At this, Matilda put her hands on her hips and demanded, "What else did that big fathead say?"

It’s easy to be kind to people who treat me well. The challenge is to practice kindness to those who are as friendly as a skunk backed into a corner. Sometimes I meet this challenge well and other times I fail miserably.

I hope that others will be patient with me, even on those days when I’m as lovable as a grizzly bear. In the same way, I try to be considerate of others who might be having the worst day of their lives.

With a kind word, you can do amazing things. A little kindness goes a long way. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Chances are that the old grouch who snaps at you from behind the counter at Walgreen's isn't the creepy monster of a man that you assume he is. Maybe he going through something at home that really has him down.

This world can be a cold place. Just like sunshine help flowers to grow, smiles and kind words can help humanity. The gift of a few kind words can warm three winter months. Don’t you love it when someone warms your soul with a random act of kindness? Why not do the same for those you encounter? They might be in need of the warm sunshine of a kind word.

Dear Lord, help us look for ways to encourage someone today. When we see a person down help us be the one to lift them up. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A real Life Example of Showing Kindness.

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Earlier this week I read a story that showed real kindness. As you read the story think about a way you can show kindness not only today but every day.

If you had to choose one word to describe Kevin, it might be "slow." Kevin didn't learn his ABCs as fast as other kids. He never came in first in the schoolyard races. However, Kevin had a special rapport with people. His bright smile and big heart won him plenty of friends.

When Kevin discovered that the pastor at his church, Randy Jessen, was putting together a boys basketball team, his mother let him participate. And soon basketball became a center of Kevin's life. He worked hard at practice. While the other boys practiced dribbling and lay-ups, Kevin shot baskets. He had a special spot near the free throw line. He threw and threw the ball, and it occasionally went in! When that happened, Kevin raised his arms and shouted, "Look at me, Coach!"

The day before their first game, Coach Randy gave each player a bright red jersey. Kevin was number 12. He scrambled himself into the sleeves and wore that jersey almost every day. One Sunday morning, the church service was interrupted by Kevin's excited voice. "Look, Coach!" He lifted his gray wool sweater to reveal the red jersey underneath with number 12 on the front. Nobody minded the interruption; the church knew Kevin and loved him.

I'd like to be able to tell you that the team did well. Actually, they never won a game that season -- except for the night it snowed and the other team never showed up. At the end of the season, the boys played in the church league's tournament. As the last-place team, they drew the unfortunate spot of playing against the first-place team -- boys who had never lost a game all year.

The game went as expected, and near the end of the fourth quarter Kevin's team stood nearly 30 points behind. It was then that one of the boys called timeout. "Coach," he said, "this is our last game and Kevin's never made a basket. I think we should let him make a basket." The team agreed. Kevin was instructed to stand at his special place near the free throw line and wait. He was told that when he was given the ball, he should shoot.

Kevin was ecstatic. He ran to the floor and waited. When the ball was passed to him he shot -- and missed. Number 17 from the other team snatched the rebound, dribbled down the court for an easy lay-up. But a moment later Kevin got the ball again. He shot -- and missed. Number 17 repeated his performance for another two points. Kevin shot a third and fourth time with the same result.

But then the other team seemed to figure out what was going on and the next time they snatched the rebound, they threw it to Kevin! Kevin shot...and missed. But now every rebound came to him and he threw and threw toward the basket.

BOTH teams had circled Kevin by this time and all of the boys were shouting, "Kevin! Kevin!" The crowd took up the chant. Soon everyone in the gym was shouting for Kevin! Coach Randy was sure the game should have been over by this time and he glanced at the clock. It was stopped at 4.3 seconds! The timekeepers were standing by their table shouting with the crowd, "Kevin! Kevin!" The world had stopped for Kevin. He shot and shot and finally one of his shots took a crazy bounce on the rim and...went in! Chaos reigned! Everyone stood and cheered as if one boy had single-handedly won a world championship. Kevin's arms sprang up in the air and he shouted, "I won! I won!" His team escorted him off the court, the clock ticked down and the game was over.

That day an undefeated team retained their perfect record. But everybody won. Everybody! Because everybody had participated in a crazy conspiracy of kindness, a simple act of mercy, that was so compelling, so powerful, that I'm sure all of heaven rejoiced!

How can you show kindness today?

Dear Lord, we pray that our eyes and hearts will be open today so that we can see how and where we can show kindness. Let Your love show through us today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Kindness and the Making of a Missionary

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Recently I read a story about kindness and how it turned a life into a real tool for God.

If they gave out "Most Likely to Fail" awards in high school, Doug Nichols would have been handed his even before the vote.

Born in 1942-the same year his father left home for another woman-Doug was raised by his mother and grandfather. Before long he was known as a troublemaker, something that earned him a high school diploma six months earlier than his classmates.

"Hey Doug," said the principal one day, "have I got a deal for you!"

The tall skinny teen stood before his superior uneasily, wondering if the deal included a firing squad.

"You promise not to come back after Christmas, and I'll give you your diploma now."

Doug smiled. Laughed. And eagerly accepted.

By the time he entered college, Doug was majoring in two subjects: women and alcohol. His late-night exploits were well known, his reputation widespread. You want fun, talk to Nichols. Whatever he does, he holds nothing back.

One night during finals week, he returned to his room from a night on the town. With the help of both walls he stumbled down a long and shifting hallway.

There stood a classmate, Hank Jaegers.

"Hey, Doug," said Hank, "how about some coffee?" Inside Jaegers's room, between long sips of very thick liquid, Nichols listened as his new friend told him an old, old story. The story of Someone who would rather die than live without him. The coffee sobered Doug. The story changed his life. He sat in a folding chair, shaking his head. Jesus loves me? At 4:30 in the morning in a small dorm room in California, Doug got on his knees and asked God to change him for good. "I was full of coffee," he recalls, "but I understood that Jesus died so I could live with Him, so I trusted Christ."

For the first time in his life, Doug had a Father. The adventure had just begun. The next morning, the new convert to Christianity armed himself with a huge black Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, but soon discovered a problem. His marks had been slipping ever since kindergarten, and he couldn't read a paragraph. One year later a letter arrived from Hank Jaegers. He was studying at Prairie Bible College in Canada. "Why don't you join me?" Asked Hank.

But Jaegers had no idea what it would cost his friend. "By that time I was engaged to be married," says Nichols, "and my fiancée's father told me to make a choice. I could stay in California and have a brand-new Cadillac, a fancy house, and a prosperous business. Or I could go to Bible College up with the polar bears." When Doug decided on the latter, his fiancée turned her back and dumped him. "That Cadillac's in a junkyard somewhere," he laughs. "And I don't know about the girl."

His poor reading and writing skills nearly did him in at Bible college. But in 1966 he somehow made it to graduation, set his determined face toward the mission field, and ran smack into a major barrier. His soiled past and poor marks in school caused thirty mission agencies to turn him down. Finally one called Operation Mobilization said yes. "OM accepts anyone," jokes Nichols.

While learning the Tagalog language, the frustration continued. "Doug," said a teacher after hours of frustration, "do you know what `walang utak' means?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. It means `no brains'!"

But Doug was smart enough not to quit. During twenty years in the Philippines, together with his Bible college sweetheart, he learned a new language, started churches, and founded a new mission, Action International. Today its 130 missionaries feed, clothe, and love thousands of street children around the world, and Doug is on the front line in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

One day Doug was preaching in India and he began to cough. Diagnosed with acute tuberculosis, he was sent to a sanatorium to recuperate. Surrounded by starving and dying patients, he wondered how this could ever turn out for the good. Meanwhile, back in Canada, students at Prairie passed a hat around a room, collected about three hundred dollars, and sent it to Doug in an envelope. Nichols sneaked out of the sanatorium with the money and bought as much food as a shop owner could fit into his truck. Then Doug asked the man to back the truck up to the door of the sanatorium, and Nichols watched in delight as the patients hungrily devoured bread and jam and fruit.

But when he offered them gospel booklets, they refused. Dejected, the young preacher began to despair. One night as he lay awake, unable to sleep because of a raspy cough, he noticed an old man trying to leave his bed, only to fall back, exhausted and crying. The stench from the old man's bed the next morning brought loud insults from fellow patients. He had been unsuccessful in trying to get up and go to the restroom. Nurses roughly changed his bedding. One slapped him. Nichols watched as the old man curled up in a ball and wept.

The next morning about 2:00 A.M., Doug awoke again. The old man was trying to get out of bed. This time, without thinking, Doug left his bed, lifted the frail patient and carried him to the bathroom. When he had finished, Doug carried him back to bed. Jabbering in a language Doug did not understand, the old man smiled profusely, then kissed him gently on the cheek. In the morning, Doug awakened to a steaming cup of tea served to him by another patient who spoke no English. After serving the tea, the patient motioned to Doug that he would like a booklet.

"Throughout the day," says Doug, "people came to me, asking for gospel booklets."

There were nurses. Doctors. Hospital interns. Over the next few days, several came 'by to tell Doug that they had made the same decision he had one coffee-soaked night in California.

"I simply took an old man to the bathroom," smiles Doug. "Anyone can do that."

What act of kindness will you do today that will bring someone to the Lord? People all around us are looking for kindness, just to know that they are loved.

Dear Lord, help our eyes be open today for the opportunity You will place in front of us to show your Love with a kind deed. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Kind Word Can Change the World

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

A successful businessman, addressing the commercial club of his city, told a story in his after-dinner speech. It was the story of a boy named Jim, who was an orphan and the laughing stock of the whole town. He was twelve years old, slim and undersized. He never remembered having a kind word spoken to him in his whole life. He was accustomed to harsh words, suspicion, and rebuffs, and as a result became a shrinking, pitiful little figure, dodging people. And the more he dodged people, the more suspicious they became.

The only earthly possession of which Jim could boast was a dog that 

cringed and shrank almost as much as his master and was as much hated. Jim was not cruel to his dog except in words - and that is really the worst form of cruelty, even to a dog. A harsh, unkind word can cause more misery, heartache, and anguish than actual physical cruelty. A cruel, unkind tongue cuts like a sword.

One day as Jim walked down the street, he saw a bundle slip from the overloaded arms of a little lady just in front of him. As she stooped to pick it up, the others rolled down. Jim sprang to her assistance, gathering up the bundles and replacing them in her arms. "Thank you, dear; you are a nice little boy," she said kindly, and went on her way after giving him a bright smile.

Jim was amazed; a queer choky feeling passed over him. These were the first kind words he had ever heard in his whole twelve years of existence. He stood and stared after her. He knew that she was the busy little dressmaker who lived in a small cottage on the outskirts of town. He watched her until she was out of sight, then he whistled to Tige and made straight for the woods and a stream that wound around the town.

He sat down on the bank of the stream and did some thinking. "Thank you, dear; you are a nice little boy," he pondered.

"Come here, Tige," he commanded, and Tige slunk to his feet. Then Jim lowered his voice in imitation of the little faded lady and said, "You are a nice little dog." The effect on Tige was electrical. He pricked up his ears, and if a dog could stand at attention, Tige did. "Uhum! Even a dog likes it," said Jim. "Well, Tige, I don't blame you; it is nice. I won't holler at you anymore." Tige wagged his tail joyously.

The boy continued to think, and the dog sat and watched him. Finally the boy pulled from the odds and ends in his pockets a piece of broken mirror and looked at himself. He saw nothing but grime and dirt, the accumulation of many days. He went down to the water's edge and scrubbed it off carefully, almost painfully. Then he looked again. He scarcely recognized himself. He was surprised. He stood erect and looked up instead of down for the first time since he could remember. He distinctly liked the sensation. A feeling of self-respect awoke within his being. Ambition sprang full-grown into life. At that moment the course of his life was changed; a determination to be worthy of the kind words spoken to him by the little dressmaker, and to pass them on, took possession of his soul.

If each of us would learn the lesson: "Be ye kind." What a difference it would make in our world.

 

Dear Lord, we pray that we would take the time to say a kind word to those around us. Help us to hold our tongue when we are about to say something that will tear someone down instead of building them up. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Kindness Shown on a Basketball Court

John 13:34-35 (NIV)

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I read this true story of love and kindness earlier this year. I think you will find it well worth reading!

If you had to choose one word to describe Kevin, it might be "slow." Kevin didn't learn his ABCs as fast as other kids. He never came in first in the schoolyard races. However, Kevin had a special rapport with people. His bright smile and big heart won him plenty of friends.

When Kevin discovered that the pastor at his church, Randy Jessen, was putting together a boy’s basketball team, his mother let him participate. And soon basketball became a center of Kevin's life. He worked hard at practice. While the other boys practiced dribbling and lay-ups, Kevin shot baskets. He had a special spot near the free throw line. He threw and threw the ball, and it occasionally went in! When that happened, Kevin raised his arms and shouted, "Look at me, Coach!"

The day before their first game, Coach Randy gave each player a bright red jersey. Kevin was number 12. He scrambled himself into the sleeves and wore that jersey almost every day. One Sunday morning, the church service was interrupted by Kevin's excited voice. "Look, Coach!" He lifted his gray wool sweater to reveal the red jersey underneath with number 12 on the front. Nobody minded the interruption; the church knew Kevin and loved him.

I'd like to be able to tell you that the team did well. Actually, they never won a game that season -- except for the night it snowed and the other team never showed up. At the end of the season, the boys played in the church league's tournament. As the last-place team, they drew the unfortunate spot of playing against the first-place team -- boys who had never lost a game all year.

The game went as expected, and near the end of the fourth quarter Kevin's team stood nearly 30 points behind. It was then that one of the boys called timeout. "Coach," he said, "this is our last game and Kevin's never made a basket. I think we should let him make a basket." The team agreed. Kevin was instructed to stand at his special place near the free throw line and wait. He was told that when he was given the ball, he should shoot.

Kevin was ecstatic. He ran to the floor and waited. When the ball was passed to him he shot -- and missed. Number 17 from the other team snatched the rebound, dribbled down the court for an easy lay-up. But a moment later Kevin got the ball again. He shot -- and missed. Number 17 repeated his performance for another two points. Kevin shot a third and fourth time with the same result.

But then the other team seemed to figure out what was going on and the next time they snatched the rebound, they threw it to Kevin! Kevin shot...and missed. But now every rebound came to him and he threw and threw toward the basket.

BOTH teams had circled Kevin by this time and all of the boys were shouting, "Kevin! Kevin!" The crowd took up the chant. Soon everyone in the gym was shouting for Kevin! Coach Randy was sure the game should have been over by this time and he glanced at the clock. It was stopped at 4.3 seconds! The timekeepers were standing by their table shouting with the crowd, "Kevin! Kevin!" The world had stopped for Kevin. He shot and shot and finally one of his shots took a crazy bounce on the rim and...went in! Chaos reigned! Everyone stood and cheered as if one boy had single-handedly won a world championship. Kevin's arms sprang up in the air and he shouted, "I won! I won!" His team escorted him off the court, the clock ticked down and the game was over.

That day an undefeated team retained their perfect record. But everybody won. Everybody! Because everybody had participated in a crazy conspiracy of kindness, a simple act of mercy, that was so compelling, so powerful, that I'm sure all of heaven rejoiced!

What a great story of showing love. Let’s make today the day that we show our love and by doing so show God’s love to someone who needs it.

Dear Lord, thanks for the love that You showed to us by dying on the cross. Help us show that love to those around us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Showing kindness

The great baseball player Babe Ruth was honored and revered during his long reign as basball's elite in the 1900s. Known as the "Sultan of Swat," Babe hit 714 regular-season home runs during his baseball career and built a fabled reputation in many championship games.




In his declining years, however, people expected to see him perform as a raw, talented rookie. Perhaps he stayed one too many seasons, and should have retired, but the need for money and the desire to squeeze one more good season out of his body kept him going. It is said that in his final year as a professional, Babe was almost embarrassing to watch at times.




It all came to a head one day after Babe had committed some costly errors to hurt his team, amounting to some decisive runs by the opponent. The home team supporters reached their limit. As the Babe headed toward the dugout after the third out of the inning, fans began merciless taunting and booing, humiliating the once-great athlete. Forgotten were the days when he had been the catalyst for so many championship years. The booing was incredible.




They say that at that moment, a boy jumped over the railing and ran onto the playing field, crying. He ran to his hero and wrapped his arms around the Babe. Ruth immediately responded by lifting him up and returning the hug and then patting him gently on the head.



When the boy's kindness was shown , the booing from the stands stopped, and a hush fell over the entire ball park. The boy's kindness had softened the hearts of the people. The act of compassion had an effect on even the hardest of hearts in the park.






Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.


- Matthew 7:12 (King James Version)






Dear Lord we pray that we would treat others that would be pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.