"Kindness"

This week’s "Along the Journey" has more to do with living than with dying, but the subject has been on my mind lately and I want to share some thoughts about kindness.

The first Bible verse I learned as a pre-schooler in Sunday School was “Be ye kind one to another” (Ephesians 4:32). A couple of years later, we learned the remainder of the verse: “…tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.”

I have tried to model my life after this admonition. Admittedly, I have often failed, but kindness has always been a virtue that I tried to embrace. As I look around me today, I wonder whatever happened to kindness. We live in such a raucous, angry, disrespectful society. Just yesterday, as I was filling my car with gas, another customer became angry with the attendant because her receipt didn’t print. She stormed into the office and very loudly berated him. He accused her of not pressing the right button. It wound up with each using an ethnic slur against the other — all over such a minor thing. Whatever happened to kindness?

Kindness doesn’t mean going along with that which is wrong; nor does it mean allowing others to mistreat you. Sometimes we have to take a strong stand. But we can still do it with kindness, without denigrating the person.

Someone has said, "Love talked about is easily ignored. But love demonstrated is irresistible."

Jesus not only talked about love and kindness, but He modeled it for us. He was the epitome of kindness. He paid attention to those with whom He was interacting. His kindness signaled acceptance and affirmation. The Bible depicts kindness as the character of God. And the Apostle Paul lists kindness as a gift of the Spirit.

Kindness for others is not an emotion or a feeling, it is a choice. We choose to be kind to others, to embrace them in love, because God tells us to.

But what is kindness?

The Hebrew word is “hesed”:
“O Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love [hesed, kindness] endures forever.”

The Greek word for Christ is “Christos.”
The Greek word for kindness is “Chrestos.”
Many in the ancient world thought followers of Christ were actually “Chrestians,” followers of kindness. To be kind means ultimately to look like Christ.

Kindness means to be good, useful and helpful, considerate and gracious in all situations regardless of circumstances. It means that we care for the feelings of others and feel with them. It involves suffering with those who suffer, struggling with those who struggle, and honoring the worth and value of every person.

It’s not always easy to be kind, but as followers of God, it is an essential ingredient of our character. As I move down the last phase of my earthly journey, I have given thought to how I would like to be remembered. I hope that some of you will have some positive memories of things I am and have tried to do. I hope you’ll ignore my failures, or, at least, forgive me for them. But I hope that a few of you will have seen in my life a measure of kindness. That would make me happier than you can imagine.

So, the circle is nearing completion. From my childhood teaching of “be ye kind one to another,” I hope that I have moved on to the rest of the story: “tenderhearted, forgiving one another.”
That’s a goal worthy of all of us.

Does God Answer Prayer?

I’ve been taught all my life that God loves us, that He hears our every prayer and answers them all. I believe that — and so do you.

So, what am I to feel about the recent medical news? For months, thousands of you, from every corner of the globe, have been praying for me and for my healing. And then, last Thursday and Friday, several hundred of you were involved in a twenty-four prayer vigil. You were praying at the very time that I was having an MRI to determine the effectiveness of my three months of chemotherapy.

When the word came, it was not good. The cancer continues to grow. The chemotherapy, with all the ravages it caused, was not effective. But what about prayer? Did God not hear — or did He choose not to respond?

I read an article yesterday in which the writer says that the Scripture promises us the same miracles that happened in Jesus’ day. Then he gives an example of praying for his wife’s healing from cancer and how God answered his prayer and his wife is cancer-free, nine years later. He also prayed for God to give them another child, after being told by doctors that his wife couldn’t conceive. But God heard and answered his prayer and they had a child.

If it were only that easy. Or maybe God has it in for me. Or maybe it is all wishful thinking. What are we to do about unanswered prayer? How are you supposed to feel when heaven is silent?

First of all, I’m not willing to state that God didn’t hear or respond to our prayers. Who knows the kind of healing that is taking place — for me and for you —mental, spiritual, and physical healing. Do we really know enough to say that God hasn’t responded to our prayers?

Go back and read the Psalms. Listen as the writers struggle with this whole issue of unanswered prayer and a God who seems distant, whose face seems to be hidden just when they need Him the most. But read on and listen as they gain confidence in the promises of God.

Lest you think I sound too pious, that I’m implying that I have resolved the problem of unanswered prayer, let me assure you differently. I struggle mightily with the issue. I am disappointed, not just for me, but for all of you who have prayed so diligently and fervently, only to face a silent heaven.

My experience over the years, along with the experience of millions of God’s children through the ages, assures me that God is a God of love who hears and responds to our prayers. God will not grant every request or take away every pain or struggle. But He will always be there to wrap us in His arms of love, to wipe away every tear, and to give us to strength to face another day.

Keep praying. Don’t give up. God hears and is responding to our prayers in ways we can’t understand. I believe this with all my life!