Kindness, Always…
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:32)
A former adult Sunday School teacher in the church I was pastoring years ago used to stop at the door on his way out of church, and hand/tell me a little saying or story pertinent to the sermon I’d just delivered.
One Sunday morning, I’d preached about kindness. On his departure, the aforementioned teacher told me of a motorist who was traveling down one of our nation’s toll turnpikes. When the driver stopped at the toll gate, he handed the clerk a sum of money with the statement, “I’m paying for the next 5 cars that come behind me.” As he pulled away, the clerk noticed a bumper sticker on the back of the man’s car. It read, “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty!”
What a reminder of God’s command to us regarding constant kindness to one another! Whether or not we know the recipient of our kindness, or whether or not that recipient knows us, really does not matter. We’re simply asked, by God, to be KIND, to one another.
We’ll meet lots of people, with the passing of days,
Those encounters will vary in so many ways.
There’s one constant, however, that will lead through the maze,
And that’s to show kindness, for always, it pays!
Kindness is the safest investment in the world. It ALWAYS pays!
Senior Pastor Daniel M. Downing
February 2017