Dr Jose Managing
Editor of Forerunner Magazine, Bangalore
David M. Buss, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, with 50 other scientists residing in 37 cultures around the world, set out to discover what people want most in a mate. It took more than five years to gather all the information and, to the surprise of many, love or compatibility or intelligence or money never showed up as the most desired quality in a mate! But kindness did! It’s the most universally desired mate characteristic!
SHOW A LITTLE KINDNESS: Kindness is a lang-uage the deaf can hear and the blind can see, said Mark Twain. Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness or one caring word to change a person’s entire life. Kind words cost you nothing. Kind people are the best kind of people! Many are alive today because of some kind heart.
King David once asked his courtiers: “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9) They brought in Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, who was lame in both feet. “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.” Shuffling and stammering, perhaps not looking the king in the eye, Mephibosheth said, “Who am I that you pay attention to a stray dog like me?” Nevertheless David carried through on his word.
Our God is a God of abundant and everlasting “lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Ps. 103:4, 17; Is. 63:7). Amazingly, even though we deserved death as enemies of God, He went one step further and showed His lovingkindness and mercies by sending His only Son Jesus Christ to die in our place: “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were enemies, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:7-8)
LENDING A HELPING HAND: Behind every helping hand that is extended there is always a tender and compassionate heart. How often we have missed oppor-tunities to meet the needs of people around us whom we love simply because we weren’t paying attention to them. Walk a mile with them and you will see hands which hang down and feeble knees that refuse to move, stuck in the mud. They need a helping hand and a few com-forting words. Helping one person might not change the whole world, but it could change the world for one person.
The Apostle Paul, while writing to the Philippians, says if God’s love has made any difference in their life, then, “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” (Phil. 2:3-4, MSG) In short, he says that’s the nature of God; imitate Him.
While writing to the Colossian, Galatian and Ephesian churches, the Apostle Paul gently made it clear that as foll-owers of Christ one has to live a lifestyle of kindness -
+ “Beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) + “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23) + “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each another, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph. 4:31-32, NIV)
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE: Jesus neither hesitated to call Himself “the light of the world.” (John 8:12) nor did He feel reluctant to say, “You are the light of the world” (Mt. 5:14). In Matthew 5:16 He urges us to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Lights don’t advertise themselves, neither do they shine for themselves. Dwight L. Moody nailed it when he said, “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine.”
Mother Teresa once said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Lights just shine, they don’t judge, they don’t criticise. Please don’t judge people. You don’t know what it took someone to just get out of bed and look and feel presentable.
Many may recall the following words written by Curt Sapaugh & Bobby Austin and sung by Glen Campbell -“If you see your brother standing by the road, with a heavy load, from the seeds he’s sowed; And if you see your sister falling by the way, just stop and say, you’re going the wrong way. You’ve got to try a little kindness, yes show a little kindness...”
This year let’s not waste our time judging people. Like Jesus let’s spend time with people and show a little kindness to the ones rejected by society. Like David ask yourself: is there anyone I need to be kind to? No act of kindness however small is wasted. Sow it generously.
Little deeds of kindness, little words of love, Make our Earth an Eden, Like the Heaven above.
