Devotional - June 22, 2022
Zachariah 7:9-10 “This is what the Lord of Armies has said: ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’
Kindness is a quality found in those who walk by the Spirit. Kindness is described as being friendly, generous, and considerate. When I say it is a quality found in those who walk in the Spirit, I mean it is a quality that is found in their walk; their day to day. Anyone can be kind at times, but for very different reasons. True kindness flows out of a person regardless of the response they get in return. Which means, they have done their inner work (Matthew 23: 26-28). In one of the first few Chicken Soup for the Souls, there was a great story about a professional golfer from South America. He had just won a golf tournament and made a considerable amount of money in doing so. As he left the clubhouse and on his way to his car, a lady ran up to him and begged him for money. She told him she was homeless and her child was sick and needed to see a doctor. He immediately pulled out his wallet and gave her all the cash he was carrying at the time. The total amount being close to three hundred and fifty dollars. She took it and was gone. When he looked around, the only people he saw were some of the other golfers and caddies in the parking lot. They were laughing and pointing at him. After putting his clubs in the car, he walked over and asked why they were laughing. They told him the lady just took him for all his cash. She was a local and that was her scam. Her favorite target being golfers who won tournaments. He understood, and just to clarify asked, "so there was no sick child?" They said no and continued on laughing. He smiled and said with relief, "good..." Then he turned away and walked back to his car and left. In South America, where he was from, there were a lot of sick children who lived in severely impoverished conditions; many of whom died. Had that been one of us, we may have wanted to get even with the person who got over on us. Like a cup when shaken, what we are full of, spills out. Being kind wells up from the depths of our soul, but rarely in pure form. As it rises, so do other emotions and thoughts. We need God to be a part of the process, helping us to consider the situation from more than one perspective. During such times, it helps to stay mindful of the blessings we have received from God (2 Peter 1:3). Doing so strengthens us and being kind calls for strength. Anyone can be bitter and complain. It seems to be the going thing right now. Personally, I think that says something. God calls us to be strong (Joshua 1:9). How can a person bear the Light of the world (Matthew 5:14, John 14:23) and yet be unkind? Now, ...I hope you have been with me long enough to know I am not being a perfectionist about this. It is a lifelong process and I too am working my way through it. Even as I write these devotionals I think, maybe I should reread this one because I need to hear it too! Being that it is a lifelong process, work on it as such, little by little, day by day. Be willing to reflect on situations and ask yourself some questions about what happened. The key is to be ...that's right ; ), kind to yourself while doing so. If you ever want to make progress you cannot be your own worst enemy. If you are, then the Spirit has to contend with your attitude along with everything else and that usually doesn't end well (Ephesians 4: 30-31). Being kind to others calls for a certain amount of vulnerability. The old saying, no good deed goes unpunished, rings true time after time. And for many, one time is enough. They get burned and they rarely venture in that direction again. If they do, they do so in a guarded manner. They follow Ronald Reagan saying, "trust, but verify." Not bad advice, but it does limit our ability to fully develop in this manner. Sometimes, we need to be able to say, "so, there was no sick child, ...good." And walk away, not feeling like we did anything bad, because in the end, we didn't.
Pray with me... Gracious God, we confess, being kind is hard, especially in a world that can be very unkind. Help us Lord. Work within us, bringing healing to our souls, making us whole. Be with our loved ones, bless them according to their needs. Be with our church, we are thankful for it. Bless us Lord, so we can bless others. In Jesus name, Amen
God's peace,
Pastor Brian
