Kindness
“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.” Luke 6:35
Kindness. Why is it that so many desire this from others but very few actually display it? Did you know that in Titus 2, it actually tells the older women to teach the younger women to be kind? That’s because it is not something we inherently do. It is not always built in to us.
No offense, but when I think back to my middle school and high school years, kind girls are NOT what comes to mind. Except one. Her name was Cathy. When I think of Cathy, I think of the modern day Good Samaritan. If you aren’t familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan, I encourage you to open your Bible and turn to Luke 10 and read verses 25-37. This man was kind. I mean, REALLY KIND. He didn’t judge others based on their appearance. He didn’t help others because of what they would do in return. He showed mercy to those that didn’t deserve it. And so did Cathy.
Cathy was kind, REALLY KIND. Kind: as in doing nice things for others because it was the right thing to do. Kind: as in always looking out for the less fortunate, the less popular, the least loved. Kind: as in making eye contact and smiling at EVERY person she saw. Kind: as in making a point to ask you how you were doing. Kind: as in listening to you intently when you were talking. Kind: as in offering encouragement at whatever you were doing. That was Cathy.
Cathy recently lost her long battle to cancer and her service was unlike any I have ever seen. There was not an open seat to be found, despite the size of this large church. She didn’t live nearly long enough, but you would never know her years were short based on the amount of people there that day.
I was struck by those that came to honor her life… young, old, men, women, parents, children, rich, poor, administrators, former teachers, city officials, even our high school lunchroom lady. You see, Cathy was not a respecter of persons. She was kind to everyone. And it was evident by all those that came to thank her that day. That is the kind of life I want to live.