Thought for Today
Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor.
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, 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?
Mark 14:7 For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.
Galatians 5:22 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
Some years ago, I used to occasionally see a bumper sticker on my commute reading “Practice Random Acts of Kindness.” I thought about that bumper sticker yesterday when several friends who are not part of our regular congregation came to worship with us. Several of them are regular Zoom attendees; all were part of the congregation at the first church I served as pastor, the church where I was ordained. All of them are part of our regular Wednesday social group. It was great to have them worship with us in person. We all went out to lunch afterward. They had decided to visit as a ‘random act of kindness.’
Surprisingly enough, the word ‘kindness’ does not appear in the Bible as often as one might anticipate. Only 1 translation I found has that word more than 50 times. Several different Greek words are translated with our English ‘kindness.’ Each has its own connotations; but, all seem to capture the concept of “a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistance, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. It is a subject of interest in philosophy, religion, and psychology.” (Wikipedia)
Everyone I have served as teacher, pastor or even friend knows my fascination with Micah 6:8. The all-encompassing simplicity of that verse is amazing. Irrespective of one’s faith tradition, justice, kindness and humility are applicable to one’s understanding of acceptable behavior. Disappointingly, justice, kindness and humility are not much in evidence in the behaviors of many of the world’s inhabitants. If we polled people around the globe (especially in America?) on the most valued traits and admired characteristics, I suspect justice, kindness and humility would rank rather low on the ordered list of responses. We pay great lip-service to justice, kindness and humility in our public discourse; we do not provide commiserate reward to those who exemplify justice, kindness and humility in their lives. Few politicians, fewer still captains of industry, and almost no celebrities would ever be accused of demonstrating those virtues in their lives.
I was impressed by how much the kindness of our friends yesterday meant to both Greta and me. Even though we see them socially on a regular basis, even though we see their images on Zoom often, it was wonderful to worship with them in person, in our sanctuary. It was great to be able to share their presence with our family of faith. We greatly appreciated the kindness represented by their being there in those pews.
Most Christians are familiar with Jesus’ response to the question of which commandments are greatest. "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." How many of us ever stop to develop that idea in specific detail? What does it mean to “love your neighbor as yourself?” I believe that it means “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
The U.S.A. is in the midst of a political campaign. The 2 presumptive candidates for President will participate in a televised ‘debate’ on Thursday. Does anyone honestly believe we will see or hear anything of justice, kindness or humility during that debate? How effective would a campaign for any elected political office be, were it conducted on the basis of justice, kindness and humility? Especially if we consider justice, kindness and humility in the sense the words appear in the Bible. Biblical justice has no relationship to one’s ability to afford the most effective legal representation.
The Bible uses justice, kindness and humility in terms of our relationship with our Creator God. Our lives as children of God are shaped and motivated by the grace, love and mercy of God. Micah’s great verse is a clarion call for us to mirror God’s grace, love and mercy in our relationships with each other. Read Luke chapter 6:27-38, especially “31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Practice acts of kindness, random or premeditated. Remember those words of Smokey the Bear, “The life you save may be your own.”
Stay safe, be just, kind and humble, trust God,
Pastor Ray