Kindness

Kindness That Marcy Boy!
At 14 years of age, the "bad boy" of a little Massachusetts town, was so powerful in his influence for evil that no one was found able to teach the district school which he attended; it seemed "pretty poor soil." Everyone said the student in question was "bad clear through," "hopeless," and "bound to go to ruin."
One day a new teacher came who said he was not afraid to try. The school friends were quick to tell him all the stories of "the Marcy boy." All advised that he be forbidden to enter the school. However, he was allowed to enter. The teacher analyzed the "hopeless soil," and began at once to enrich it with kindness, justice, goodwill and confidence, and at the right time, dropped in seeds of ambition, hope and self-respect. The seed took root, developed, grew and began to bear fruit.
The promising young student dropped his bad habits, studied day and night, went to college, and graduated with honors. He studied law, answered the call for men in 1812, became associate justice of the Supreme Court, United States senator, governor of New York, and finally Secretary of State. His name was William L. Marcy. He served faithfully in every situation. All of this happened because a good teacher saw in a child the image of God! A Lesson From a Terrapin
One brother said that during his childhood in the country, he once found a terrapin. When he started to examine it, the terrapin pulled in its head and closed its shell like a vice. This displeased the boy, and he picked up something and tried to pry it open. His uncle saw all this and said: "No, that is not the way! You may kill it, but you will not get it open."
The uncle took the terrapin into the house and set it on the hearth. It was not but a few minutes until it began to get warm. Then the terrapin pushed out its head, then its feet, and began crawling. "Terrapins are like that," the uncle said, "and people, too. You cannot force them into anything. But if you first warm them up with some real kindness, more than likely they will do what you want them to do."

Taking Risks
Norman L. Bales shares this lesson from life:
"'Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did' (1 John 1:6). For Jesus, the walk with the Father sometimes meant encountering misunderstanding, criticism and danger.
"In Acts 16, Paul and Silas risked their safety by casting out an evil spirit. For their trouble they ended up in jail. But then the jailer risked his security by washing their wounds.
Discretion is sometimes the better part of valor, but discretion can be an excuse for cowardice. One day I walked down a Davenport street minding my own business when I saw two groups of angry girls emerge from a restaurant. Anger escalated into violence-hair pulling, slaps, blows. I did what the priest and Levite in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan did. I crossed the street and passed by on the other side. If I had to do it over, I still do not think I would have intervened, but at the very least I could have called the police.
"But then there is the case of Steve Palermo. Steve was an umpire in the American League. One particular day he called a Texas Rangers game and left to eat dinner at a local restaurant. Hoodlums attempted a robbery and assaulted some of the waitresses. Palermo and an SMU football player offered assistance, but the umpire caught a bullet in the back which traumatized his spinal cord, and even now he has to rely on leg braces and canes to walk. He may never umpire again. That is a high price to pay for an act of kindness, but compassionate people like Palermo run risks.
"Our contemporaries would like to live in a risk-free world. It does not exist. Followers of Jesus must learn to swim against the tide of 'risk phobia.'We walk in the footsteps of the One who said, 'I lay down My life for the sheep.'"

Never Too Busy to Be Kind
While Lincoln was a poor young lawyer in Springfield, he was going to his office one morning when he saw a little girl crying at the door of one of the houses. Lincoln stopped to see what was the matter. She sobbed out her story. She was going to visit a little friend of hers in another town. It was to be her first ride on the train, and the expressman had not come for the trunk.
Mr. Lincoln lifted the trunk onto his shoulders and started off, calling to the little girl to "come along." They just caught the train. No wonder the little girl never forgot him! A great, brave, noble man he was-never too busy to be kind.

Business as Usual
A young man left his employer, a lumber merchant, and began business in competition with him. For a while he prospered greatly and got many orders that would have gone to the firm he had left. But just when his business seemed to be most flourishing, and he had more orders than he could supply, a huge fire in his yard destroyed all his lumber. The day after the fire he saw his old employer coming toward his office. He said later, "I could have hated him, for I thought he was coming to gloat over my misfortune. But he came to me as a friend in need and said, 'I know you have agreed to supply lumber to your customers by certain dates, and this unfortunate fire makes it impossible for you to do it. My lumber yard is at your disposal. You can have what you need and pay me at your own convenience. Your business may go on as usual.' " The young man was overwhelmed by this embodiment of the Golden Rule; the rivalry and hatred that he had felt gave place to love.

Oil of Kindness
There was an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went. If he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. So he went through life lubricating all the hard places and making it easier for those who came after him. People called him eccentric, queer, cranky, odd, and other degrading names. But the old man went steadily on, refilling his can of oil when it became empty and oiling the hard places he found. He did not wait until he found a creaky door or a rusty hinge and then go home to get his oil; he carried it with him. There are many lives that creak and grate harshly day by day. They need lubricating with the oil of kindness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. That can of oil is predominantly one that characterizes the Christian religion. The task of using it belongs to those who claim to be Christians. As the old man kept his oil with him, so we need to keep our Christian kindness handy. It does no good if left at home or in the church.

Kindness
Alexander Maclaren says, "Kindness does not require us to be blind to facts or to live in fancies, but it does require us to cherish a habit of goodwill, ready to show pity if sorrow appears, and slow to turn away even if hostility appears." A Grateful Friend
A gentleman had found a shelter for a ragged, homeless boy and was walking down the street with him. He was stopped by another gentleman who, after a short conversation, said, "You are surely not walking through the streets with that dirty boy?" "Why not?" said the gentleman. "He is my friend." Overhearing the first remark the lad was slinking away, but the answer made him the life-long, devoted follower of his new-found friend. God calls us His friends. Can we ever express enough gratitude and honor to Him?

One Hurts-All Hurt
A man passing a small group of children noticed they were all crying noisily. He stopped one lad and asked, "What's the trouble? Why are you all crying?" Between sobs the boy answered, "We all have a pain in Billy's stomach." That's real sympathy for the one who is suffering. Paul possessed such sympathy for the Christian brethren who should have been spiritual but were actually carnal. He still calls them brethren. His desire is not to condemn but to lift them up. This is the spirit of the third chapter of First Corinthians.

Spirit of Kindness
"I once lived in the country," said a preacher, "next to a very excellent man who, nevertheless, had his weaknesses. I recollect an occasion on which he became angry and manifested his displeasure in a striking manner. Wanting a place to hang up a trowel in my yard, I drove a nail into the fence between his yard and mine. It went through on the other side. One day I heard a racket in my yard and looking to see what was the reason, I found my trowel ringing over the pavement. My neighbor with his hammer had hit the nail and sent the trowel and everything else flying. My first feeling was to fire the trowel over at him and give him a piece of my mind, but my second thought was, 'Well, that's the way he is, but he is a very good fellow, a quiet neighbor so I won't say anything about it.' I was going to be satisfied; but then I decided I had better say something to him. I stepped in and said, 'I ask your pardon, sir. It was thoughtless my driving that nail through the fence, and I am glad you reminded me of it.' He shook hands with me and said, 'Well, well, let us not say anything more about that.' The result showed the wisdom of treating the matter in a spirit of simple kindness. It was evidently the course of conduct that was best for him."

Kindness Rewarded
Two boys who were working their way through Leland Stanford University found themselves almost without funds. One of them conceived the idea of engaging the great Polish pianist, Paderewski, for a piano recital, and devoting the profits to their board and tuition. The pianist's manager asked for a guarantee of $2,000. The boys proceeded to stage the concert, but the proceeds totaled only $1,600. The boys sought the great artist and told him of their efforts. They gave him the entire $1,600 and a promissory note for the $400, explaining that they would earn the balance and pay it off at the earliest possible moment.
"No, boys, that won't do," said Paderewski. Then, tearing up the note, he returned the money to them, saying, "Now take out of the $1,600 all of your expenses, and keep ten percent of the balance for each of you for your work, and let me have the rest."
The years rolled by. The war came, and Paderewski was striving with might and main to feed the starving thousands in his beloved Poland. There was only one man in the world who could help Paderewski. Thousands of tons of food began to come into Poland for distribution. After the starving people were fed, Paderewski journeyed to Paris to thank Herbert Hoover for the relief sent them.
"That's quite all right, Mr. Paderewski," was Mr. Hoover's reply. "Besides, you don't remember how you helped me once when I was a student working my way through Leland Stanford, and I was in a hole." Remember the words of the Master, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:2).