Kindness is the language of Christmas
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- December 9, 2023
- 839
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
If I said to you, “God has been so good to us.” What kind of emotion would this statement invoke? Would we have joy, happiness, hope and peace? Would we have agony, bitterness and heartbreak? When we talk about God, we can see Him as a good father, or a grumpy old man who just wants us to get off his lawn. God has been called the great clockmaker in the sky, someone who sets time in motion, then watches how it plays out.
Some of us may have been hurt by a church. For that, I am deeply sorry. One of the hardest things to remember is that we are all human. We all make mistakes. The action that hurt us is not from God. I believe God is good and so very kind. He would never hurt us. As one woman said, being hurt in the church is a hurt that cuts deep. It can seem like God Himself hurt us. That is not true.
There is something we can do that is worthwhile — be kind to the people who hurt us. That is one of the hardest things to do. I know when someone hurts me, my first reaction is to hurt them back. I would love to make them feel as bad as they made me feel. However, it needs to end at one point. I think of the movie “Tag” in which three friends played tag for 30 years. There were no timeouts, so one of the friends interrupted an important business meeting to tag the other friend. Of course, the guy at the meeting had to get back at the other guy. Hurt can work in some way. You hurt me. I hurt you. You hurt me again and around we go.
Wouldn’t it be a good Christmas gift to ourselves to end the cycle of hurt? One of the weirdest things about life is hate is easy to give, but it sucks the life out of us. On the other hand, it is hard to show kindness to people who hurt us, but it is one of the most life-giving things we can do for ourselves. If I am kind to people who hurt me, then I am showing the love of Jesus to that person. It is easy to say a person knew better, but we may not know that. What if they never have been shown? What if we are the only person to show them what kindness is?
We didn’t get to know people’s stories. Every one of us has a story. Some people grew up being unloved. Others had a parent die when they were young. A little kindness will go far. Take them out for dinner, go shopping with them or think of a way to show kindness. I have a good friend who thanks me every time I talk to him. People just want someone to talk to them and listen to them. Show people a little kindness this Christmas. You will be glad you did.
Merry Christmas. I love you!