A Good Conspiracy Theory

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?         Micah 6:8

 

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.  Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.                2 Timothy 2:24-25

 

We’ve been talking about the power of kindness.  Bishop Desmond Tutu said, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Mark Twain said “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”  Steve Sjourn built a 3,000 plus member church through what he called a “conspiracy of kindness.” They would simply organize mass kindness events such as handing out bottles of water and people would be drawn to why people would even do such a thing.  Sjourn wrote a book about it that started a worldwide movement. 

Why would simple acts of kindness be so attractive and create such a movement?  Unfortunately, I believe it’s because unprovoked kindness is unexpected.  In fact, when confronted by such kindness, people will often ask incredulously, “why are you doing this?”  It’s a good question.  For followers of Jesus,  Jesus gives us our basis in Luke 6:27-36:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.  And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.  But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

We are kind to others because we are paying forward the kindness of God.  And that changes the world.  Let the kindness movement continue.

 

Prayer:  God, help us see how kind you have been to us so that it is completely natural for us to commit random acts of kindness that change the world around us.  Use our efforts to do what we could never do alone. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for people who starting new jobs this week or getting back to work after a furlough. 

 

Song:  One Day – Matisyahu 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwUSZR2G3cc

The Cost of Kindness. . .

Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.    Proverbs 11:17

 

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”                 

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”                                       Luke 10:30-37

 

I think we all like to think of ourselves as being kind.  I certainly do.  But biblically speaking, being kind, as we talked about yesterday, implies that we are actively committing acts of kindness, not simply refraining from being unkind.  All too often though, we withhold kindness.

There are numerous possible reasons for this.  Speaking for myself, I sometimes don’t engage because I am simply preoccupied.  I’m too engrossed in my inner world that I ignore the opportunity right in front of me.  Other times, I feel like I’m too busy and to stop and show some kindness would throw me off my schedule.  Still other times, I just don’t want to get involved.  I feel like I might get sucked into something that will require more of me than I frankly want to give.  It’s hard to admit that publicly, but I know I’m not the only one who does this.  How about you? What keeps you from engaging in kind acts?

The reality is that kindness has a cost.  My above reservations about engaging in kindness are real.  I do have to lift my focus off myself and onto another to show authentic kindness.  It will sometimes wreck my schedule or to-do list.  And sometimes, it will indeed require me to give more of myself than I feel ready to give.  Whatever your reservations are, I bet they represent a real cost to you.   Here’s a hard-hitting question – if it doesn’t cost you anything, is it really kindness? 

The kindness that the Bible talks about God’s people practicing is costly; it’s more than being polite or courteous.  It puts us out.  It takes us out of our comfort zone.  It might even feel risky sometimes.  It’s the same kindness that God has extended to us.  The sun’s warmth is offered even to those who take it for granted.  The grace of God is offered to people who would spit on it if they could.  God’s Son was offered for all of us who every day fall short of being properly thankful for such an amazing gift. 

So yes, to be kind is to be a little reckless.  But as we said yesterday, it’s powerful.  It can and does change lives.  God’s kindness does just that every day.  And you and I get to be part of it – if we dare.  We’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

 

Prayer:  Lord, help us to be more than polite and courteous; help us to commit the sort of kindness that you use to change lives.  Amen

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for your church today to be used by God to accomplish miraculous things!

 

Song:  Cory Asbury – Reckless Love (non-believer reaction)  This video is a little longer than usual, but it’s powerful.  It was made by a YouTube Creator who reviews music that he has never heard before live on camera.  People asked him to review a live performance of “Reckless Love.”  His reaction is moving. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lynwOb2ZiIo

If Not For Kindness. . .

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.                                - Galatians 5:22

 

Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets.                             — Matthew 7:12

 

Today we move to the Spirit-produced fruit of kindness.  The encouragement to be kind is part of virtually every religious and ethical system in history.  Most religious and ethical systems have some form of the Golden Rule (Jesus”s version is above) in their teachings.  And yet kindness seems to so often escape us.  These days, there seems to be a shortage of kindness.

A couple of times during the course of my ministry, I have had to respond to the tragedy of someone taking their own life.  While the factors of what would cause someone to take their own life can’t really be known for sure, one of the recent environmental factors in many cases is “cyber-bullying,” a practice that Oxford Dictionary defines as “the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.” To state the obvious, this practice, which is rampant on social media, points out a fundamental lack of kindness. 

My guess is that most of us reading this try not to be unkind.  But I want to push you (and myself) a bit because Jesus’s teaching is NOT to avoid being unkind.  His teaching is to actively spread kindness.  When we do this, it is VERY powerful.  In fact, I am aware of so many instances when one perfectly timed act of kindness actually stopped a person from taking their own life.  Kindness saves lives!  And yet, you and I too often withhold it.  I say withhold because the kindness is within us.  We do choose to be kind on occasion.  The times we are not kind are not because we are not able to do so.  We withhold kindness. 

We will address some of the reasons why we withhold simple kindness next time, but I want to close today by calling us back to the Golden Rule and the question it forces us to consider.  Do you wish for people to withhold kindness from you?

Here’s your homework today.  Try to catch yourself withholding kindness from others.  You think about giving someone a call to check on them but you decide against it.  You feel a compliment rising to your lips, but you don’t let it see the light of day.  You feel compassion for someone but don’t act on it.  When you catch yourself doing this, rather than chide yourself, ask yourself, why did I withhold this kindness?  As I said, that will be the topic of tomorrow’s edition.

 

Prayer:  God, show us the kindnesses that we withhold today, for we know the world needs kindness now more than ever.  Amen

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for families that are dealing with the fallout of suicide, some even many years later.

 

Song:  If Everyone Cared – Nickelback

This song definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I thought the video was well done.  There’s a quote at the end that gets covered by Youtube Ads.  Here it is. 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”                   Margaret Mead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IUSZyjiYuY