Overwhelm with Kindness

 

I can’t think of a better word for all in the human family to choose for 2021 than this word - the word “kindness”. We need a wave of kindness to roll over us at every level of our life together. It costs no money to be kind. One can be kind wherever one finds themselves.

A person can be kind regardless of age or social status. It is really a simple thing to be kind. Why, then, is it so difficult?

Mark Twain writes, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Kindness really is a universal language. We all know the overwhelming feeling that comes with being on the receiving end of an act of kindness. We all know the overwhelming feeling of being on the receiving end of another’s vitriol and meanness. Why, then, would we ever act with animosity toward another?

Through my many years of life as a pastor, I have seen the power of kindness at work. I have seen it transform the life of an individual and a family. I have also seen the destructive power of ugliness and strife at work, beating back joy and hope in the life of others simply for the perverse joy of causing pain and division. I have known both those experiences in my own journey through life. I know the power of kindness.

One of the first Bible verses I memorized as little boy was, “Be ye kind, one to another.” I find it interesting that almost 60 years later, this verse still holds fast in my mind and is so clearly a foundation stone, not only of a Christian life, of a religious life, but of a basic, decent human life. Kindness transcends creed or race or station. To be kind is to be to make a stand against the harshness of the world.

Bishop Desmond Tutu said it best, “ Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” I pray we overwhelm the world with kindness in this new year.

Peace.