kindness

20
Mar
2024

Burning Coals

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

for you will heap burning coals on his head

and the LORD will reward you.”

Proverbs 25:21, 22

I have not seen the play Les Misérables, but Dave and I watched the movie a few weeks ago. The main character Jean Valjean is an ex-convict. As he is trying to figure out what he is going to do with his life now that he has been released from prison, he stumbles onto a nice couple that take him in for the night. The man is a priest. During the night, Jean Valjean decides to steal the silver candlesticks and leave before he is found out. However, he is caught and the police bring him back to the priest. The priest when asked if the candlesticks were his tells the police that he gave Jean Valjean the candlesticks and asks his wife to also give him the silverware as he had meant to give him the silverware as well.

The priest was practically putting this verse into practice. He knew that Jean Valjean had stolen the silver candlesticks, but instead of berating him and putting him into jail he said to him, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.”

The priest had the end in mind. He knew that the best chance that Jean Valjean had for changing his life was to show him what kindness, goodness, and selflessness looked like. Too often when we are so self-involved we have no idea what true selflessness looks like. All a selfish person knows is how to look out for is themselves. They look at what their needs and wants are and do everything they can to satisfy those.

This verse tells us to demonstrate what kindness, goodness, and selflessness look like. The “enemy” will not have any idea how to change his ways if he is not shown what selflessness looks like. There is no better way to demonstrate kindness than to look at what the needs of the “enemy” is and seek to meet those needs.

So many times in relationships where we are being taken advantage of by another person or being mistreated by another person, we think that we need to flee or that we need to fight back. When we look at Jesus and how He lived His life we see that so many times what He did was demonstrate love. He chose to teach truth and demonstrate love. When our kindness is given to others, it is a stark contrast to the evil that the other person is demonstrating.

I am thankful that our society has become more aware of abuse and impact that it has on the abused. Dealing with abuse is not my intention in this short blog.

What I want us to consider is how we treat those around us. Do we think of their needs or do we think of our own? Do we seek to share the love of Christ by showering someone with kindness or trying to get our own way? The best way to show our “enemies” kindness, goodness, and selflessness is to return their evil deeds just like the priest did in Les Misérables to Jean Valjean. Jean would not have known what these traits looked like if he had not seen them demonstrated. Sometimes, it takes repeated efforts of kindness before our “enemy” changes his ways.

After all that Jesus did for me and what I do deserve, the least I can do is shower another person with kindness, goodness, and selflessness.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
20
Dec
2023

Pursue Righteousness and Kindness

“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness,

Will find life, righteousness, and honor.”

Proverbs 21:21

I love Christmas. I love decorating our house for Christmas. I love shopping and buying presents for people. I like having a list to shop from, but I also like figuring out what someone would like and getting that for them. Then seeing the look of pleasure and surprise on their face knowing you figured out just the thing that they wanted or needed. I also love the opportunity to get together with family and friends to celebrate the reason for this special time – JESUS.

As I consider this verse from Proverbs 21:21 and ponder the purpose for Christmas, I can’t help but think about all that Jesus left behind in heaven so that He could be an example to us in pursuing righteousness and kindness. Jesus didn’t just pursue righteousness and kindness, He is the personification of righteousness and kindness. He isn’t just the personification of righteousness and kindness, but He willingly gives us “robes of righteousness.” (Is. 61:10).

How do we receive these robes of righteousness? “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9). Jesus died in our place paying a debt that we could not pay, and once He paid that penalty and we believe that He did, we receive from Jesus “robes of righteousness.” It sure seems like those who believe in Jesus get the better end of the deal. We deserve nothing and did nothing and yet we get everything.

Looking at our verse in Proverbs 21:21 Jesus pursued righteousness and kindness, and what did he receive in return? He gives us the hope of eternal life. He gives us righteousness. We receive honor because we have the hope of spending eternity in heaven with God.

So how does Jesus benefit from living a righteous and kind life? He brings honor and glory to His Father. He represents His Father to us. We see how living a life of serving God by serving others brings the greatest peace, hope, joy, and satisfaction we could ever desire.

Jesus came to earth as a baby to grow up and live a sinless and righteous life to demonstrate His love (Rom. 5:8) for us and teach us how to live. (Phil. 2). So how than shall we live?

We should live righteously demonstrating love and kindness to others. The more our love for God grows the easier it is to love and serve others. Jesus is our greatest example of this.

The more we love ourselves the harder it is to love, serve, and show kindness to others. How can we live righteously and show kindness to others when we are always looking at how to please ourselves? As we give of our life to others, just like Jesus did, we are breathing life into others.

As we plant seeds of righteousness into others, we will see the seeds of that righteousness flourish and grow in their lives. As we seek to love and serve others, we are demonstrating honor to others.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11).

As we celebrate Christmas and remember the true purpose of Christmas, we need to appreciate Christ’s sacrifice for us. We must be thankful for the righteousness and kindness that He showed to us, and we must cherish the example He was. As we experience feelings of dissatisfaction related to our selfishness, we then need to turn to the only One who can really give us peace, hope and joy. There is not one verse in Scripture that encourages us to look out for our interests. There is not one verse that says we are to focus on ourselves and deny others. God made us in His image. Since we are made in the image of God, the logical conclusion based on the example of Christ is to focus on others and deny ourselves.

Let’s commit to celebrating Christmas, by living lives of righteousness and kindness and demonstrating God’s image to everyone we come in contact with by loving and serving them well.

Merry Christmas!

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 2 comments
21
Jun
0203

What is coming from your watering can?

“A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”

(Proverbs 11:17, 25)

We live on the western side of Michigan and have been experiencing a drought of sorts the last few months. Our grass that does not get watered with the sprinklers is brown and dead. Every two or three days, I have to water my flowers and my garden. We have gotten about ¼ inch of rain in the last month. That is good for all the graduation parties and weddings that are taking place now. Rain certainly puts a damper on of these festivities, but we need rain. In the past when I have had to faithfully water my garden, the minute we had a nice rain all of my plants grew so much better. There is something about rain sent from God to water my plants.

The beauty of the water that I have been giving my plants, even though it is not rain water, is that they are growing and brightening up my yard, garden, and flower beds. As I water these plants, they provide for me beauty and produce to eat. My strawberries have been wonderful this year. I have frozen some strawberries, eaten strawberries, and made two strawberry pies. I have really enjoyed the produce so far, all because I have been dutifully watering my plants.

People are a little bit like my plants. People benefit from words and acts of kindness. When a person receives a word of encouragement, they perk up a little bit. It is said that it takes one word of unkindness to undo seven words of kindness. Speaking and acting in kindness spreads cheer to those within ear shot. Sending a note in the mail to encourage someone will brighten their day. Noticing the good qualities of someone and telling them about them will encourage them to continue on in those fine qualities that they have.

What happens to the person who turns out cruelty and withholds words of kind encouragement? It is like the drought that is causing our grass to be burnt and brown. Have you walked on that kind of grass in your bare feet? Is it appealing to the eye? What usually happens to that brown grass after a period of time? The grass is no longer dormant but dead, there is no life left in it and the weeds take the opportunity to grow up where the thick lush grass was. So is the person who gives out nothing but cruelty and unkind words, they are like the crunchy brown grass. It causes pain to those who hear and that pain carries on in the ears of the hearer long after the words were spoken.

Too often those that are cruel think that they have to say what comes to their minds and once they get it off their chest, they feel better. The sad thing is that what they unloaded on the poor listener is now their burden to carry. The relationship is now marred and the words that the cruel person said cannot be taken back. Too often the cruel person thinks that they can move on and everyone will forget the tone or the words that were said. This person leaves a trail of destruction in their relationship wake, and when they are in need they have no one that will help them or the person that does assist them is reluctant to do so.

Not so with the person who is kind and goes around watering all that come near their bountiful spring of kind words and actions. We all walk around with a watering can in our hand. What is coming out of your watering can? Is it words of kindness and encouragement or is cruelty, harshness, and anger? If you are not sure, maybe you should check to see what you are getting back? Is it kindness or cruelty? Do you feel refreshed or dry?

 

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments