Saturday, October 7, 2017

Show Kindness Every Day: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “A simple act of kindness can make a tremendous impact on a person’s life” (anonymous).
   Picture a college dorm. I’m not talking about a guy’s dorm where there are probably stinky smells and clothes everywhere. I am talking about a girl’s dorm where there are good smelling soaps and organized clothes. That is where this story begins. At Lancaster Bible College each student who stays on campus is required to do dorm duties. When I was there each girl needed to do one job per week. There were jobs like cleaning the toilet, cleaning the shower, vacuuming, taking out the trash, taking out the recycling, cleaning the sinks, etc.
   Most people did not like doing those jobs. But, since we did them once each week, things did not get too messy. There was a point in time where most of the girls were getting stressed. I decided to do all of the dorm duties for the girls, but I did not tell them I did it. All of the girls were so surprised and thankful. Some of them still do not know that I was the one who did that. I did not tell them because I wanted them to thank God for the blessing they received.
   Kindness is “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate” (Oxford dictionary). Seems like a pretty simple and straightforward definition but being kind isn’t always easy. Sometimes there are people who we just do not get along with. And, other times we feel like we just do not have time to be kind.
   Many people think that in order to be kind one must do extravagant things. That simply isn’t the case. I have found that most people feel more blessed by the simple acts. Every day we are given the chance to do a random act of kindness for at least one person. What does kindness look like? It is letting that person go in front of you in line. It is picking up trash on the floor. It is holding the door for someone. Kindness can be shown in the little things we choose to do every day that will bring a smile to someone’s face.
   So, are you willing to go out of your way to show kindness to others? Do you believe that kindness can be shown in the little things you choose to do for others?
   Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 3:3, Luke 6:35, Galatians 5:22-23

No comments:

Post a Comment