“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.” 1 Corinthians 13:4

A while back I showed the grandkids a video that illustrated true kindness and the way we should live it out in our lives.The video showed a waitress having a bad day.  One man was especially mean to her.  The waitress’s son was sitting at the counter watching the way she was being treated.  In walked a man who obviously had some special needs.  He sat down and kindly asked how much the big muffins were.  The waitress told him and he slowly counted out his money and then said he would just have a cup of coffee and small donut. When he left the waitress  looked down and he had left her a tip.  He had not gotten what he wanted because it would not have left enough for the tip.  It made waitress’s day, it made her son’s day, and dare I say, it probably made the man’s day as well.

Kindness is one of those rare things that the more we give, the more we have.  It doesn’t diminish as we give it out.  We can never run out of it because our supply house is in heaven.  When God sees we have given kindness, He automatically replaces it and we don’t even have to put in an order.  The writer of Hebrews tells us, “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” (Hebrews 6:10)  God notices what we do.  He knows our hearts.  He rewards our kindness.

If we want to tell others about Jesus, we need to show them Jesus.  All the words in the world won’t negate unkind acts.  As someone once said, “It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.”  The smallest act can sometimes reap the mightiest of rewards. There once was a man who stopped by a small hotel, but the hotel was full.  The man however was very tired and had no place to turn.  The hotel manager, who lived at the hotel, offered him his own room.  The next day the man left letting the manager know he would never forget his kindness.  He was true to his word.  He eventually built one of the largest hotels in Chicago and called the man to be its manager.  The man gave up his bed and received a hotel in exchange.  It should be noticed that people who do things that count, seldom take time to count them.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that kindness doesn’t always seem to result in reward- at least right away.  Man sometimes isn’t the best at saying thanks, but on the other hand, God never forgets good deeds.  We don’t get God’s love, forgiveness, or salvation from kindness, but we do get His attention.  Sometimes a smile from God is all we need to keep us going and every once in a while we will even get a smile from someone else.

The kindest man to ever live was Jesus Himself.   Every act He did was while on His way to the cross.  Some of the kind things He did were for those who would later turn their backs on him.  The greatest kindness of all was His sacrifice on the cross and that was for all us.  None of us deserved a kindness so great.  If He who gave so much, empowers us to do just a little, should we not do it?  The tiniest act of kindness may be our introduction of Jesus to others.  Without kindness, many would not desire to know Him.  It is said that kindness is the one language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.  Jesus proved that in His miraculous ministry.  We can prove that in our daily lives.

So whether it is a kind word, a short note, a pat on the back, or a tiny act, kindness can go a long way.  No other book says it better, and no other Man did it better.  Solomon left us this wise piece of advice in proverbs, “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 3:3)   We need to treat people nice, not because they are, but because Christ is.  We don’t need another kind of army; we need an army of the kind.  Let’s enlist.