Spread a Little Kindness — Morning Devotions

Subscribe to Morning Devotions podcast

Transcript

It’s no secret that the world is in a state of turmoil. Every day there’s another headline about some new act of violence or hatred. And it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the bad news. We feel like, what can I do to make a difference? It can be quite depressing, but there is something we can do, and that is to choose kindness. It may not seem much at first, but choosing to be kind to our fellow man will make a difference. The world could use more love, and kindness is a great way to bring more love into the world.

The dictionary says that kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. And when we choose to be kind, we act in ways that show compassion, concern, and thoughtfulness towards other people. We show that we care about the well-being of others, whether we feel like it or not. And did you know that kindness is actually good for your health? It can boost your immune system, lower blood pressure, and improve your heart health. It was the late Princess Diana, who once said, carry out a random act of kindness with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.

The cycle of kindness

It’s really having an interest for the well-being of others and then expressing it in deed and in word. Parents encourage their children to be kind to their family, friends, animals. We often hear people talk about random acts of kindness. 13th of November, each year is nominated as World Kindness Day. It has incredible power, it’s a character trait. The McCrindle Research Company had some interesting facts about kindness in the 2021 report. Social researcher Mark McCrindle said that 3500 people were surveyed for this study.

And it revealed Australians give 16 acts of kindness per week, but we only receive 6, where are the missing 10. One theory is that we don’t always allow ourselves to receive kindness, you know, we decline kind offers of help. We don’t accept the offer of childminding, even though things are tough at home. We say, oh, I’m fine, instead of accepting the offer of a shoulder to cry on or a friend who will understand. And that shouldn’t stop us from continuing to make those offers of kindness, but it should encourage us to accept a few more of them.

So maybe the problem is us. It’s good to pause, to enjoy the moment, to accept the kindness of others into our lives. But why are we kind? Well, it’s what we do. It’s what we’re supposed to do, whether you are a Christian or not, but especially Christians have no choice. We have no excuse not to be kind. God calls us to be kind. Our lifestyle has to be a lifestyle of being kind.

That makes us feel good, but also lifts up the spirit of other people. And by being kind to others, we can do so much good. Somebody said, if we choose the path of kindness, we choose the path that leads to God. And I think that’s a very accurate statement. When you focus on yourself, your life shrinks, you become smaller. But as you put your focus on other people, your life expands and you become bigger.

You become a bigger and better person. If you constantly focus on yourself, you do become smaller, but as you really put focus on other people by being considerate, then you will become a bigger and better person. There’s no discrimination in kindness. We should be kind to all people. It doesn’t matter who they are, we should never lose the attitude of kindness. We shouldn’t say rude words. We can never treat other people in a rude manner. It doesn’t matter who they are.

Hope 103.2 is proudly supported by

It’s pure. It has no ulterior motive. We really have no right to treat other people in a rude way. It was the writer and preacher Chuck Swindle in his book called Loving What’s Kind. He says there are reasons why we are not kind, because we’re in a hurry. Kindness calls for compassion, and by nature, he said, we are preoccupied and intense. And he said, kindness occasionally includes forgiveness, but it’s so much easier to hold a grudge.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, help me to spread a little kindness each day in whatever I’m doing. Lord, it doesn’t have to be huge things, but in the ordinary every day of life, help me to be your ambassador, to show your example, Lord, as you’ve called us to be kind to other people, and this I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.