By the time you are my age you pretty much have everything you need. When a person asks you what you want for your birthday or Christmas or whatever the occasion may be, many of us can’t really think of anything. Some of you are tracking and others are saying, “I got a list, ask me”, right? Well whatever side of the coin you are on today this gift that I want to talk to you about fits perfectly. It is called, “Random Acts of kindness”. It is defined as, “a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing either to assist or to cheer up an individual person or people.”
A friend wanting to do something different for my birthday this year suggested we do 59 random acts of kindness. I thought it was a great idea as my love language is gift giving. We set out early, excited to figure out how to be kind. As we began to tally our check lists came fairly easy. Pay for someone else’s breakfast, check. Put back a grocery cart, check. Pay for someone’s groceries, check. Hey, we got this thing. But I got to thinking, what can we do that is kind that doesn’t cost money? Driving down the highway someone is broke down. So we stop and ask if we can help. They need water or antifreeze, check. Not a problem. We give them some water and off we go again. As the day progresses and the sun began to set we are only about half way through our 59. We rush from grave sites, to grocery stores, to a car wash, back to another parking lot. Finally we are done, but not finished. We have run out of time.
Matthew 6:1 (NKJV) “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
I can see from this verse that God our Father expects us to do charitable deeds for men and that He really doesn't want us to do them for others to see so we can get credit. I got this. But I am the kind of person that wants to share whatever I get or have with others. I don’t like to “do life” a lone. I wasn't looking for a reward I wanted to take the world with me on an adventure to bless others. I wanted others ideas and inputs as to how we could accomplish these 59 random acts of kindness. My little part of the world got on board and ideas flowed in on Facebook and Twitter. Some even gave us web sites to help us with ideas.
Reminiscing over my day I came to the realization that it is no wonder why people aren't very kind anymore. What was once a way of life is now something we have to consciously set out to perform. It took money, time, energy and resources which many are short on today. If we had not had water (resource) in our car we would not have been able to assist at the roadside incident. If we didn't have money we could not have paid for someone’s meal let alone put a handful of quarters in carts at Aldi’s.
The gift my friend gave me was a gift of her life. She had given an entire day, finances, energy, resources, thought life, to not only performing acts of kindness… but to show me a life lesson. Here is what I learned.
No one has all the time, energy, resources, finances, and thought life to go perform all the kindness the world needs in a day; but if you and I do something every day on a consistent basis… and so does everyone else out there—we can make this world a better place. Be an example to others every day. Your little part of the world is watching. They don’t want to “do life” a lone either. Take someone with you today and “do life” together and along the way take time to be kind.
A friend wanting to do something different for my birthday this year suggested we do 59 random acts of kindness. I thought it was a great idea as my love language is gift giving. We set out early, excited to figure out how to be kind. As we began to tally our check lists came fairly easy. Pay for someone else’s breakfast, check. Put back a grocery cart, check. Pay for someone’s groceries, check. Hey, we got this thing. But I got to thinking, what can we do that is kind that doesn’t cost money? Driving down the highway someone is broke down. So we stop and ask if we can help. They need water or antifreeze, check. Not a problem. We give them some water and off we go again. As the day progresses and the sun began to set we are only about half way through our 59. We rush from grave sites, to grocery stores, to a car wash, back to another parking lot. Finally we are done, but not finished. We have run out of time.
Matthew 6:1 (NKJV) “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
I can see from this verse that God our Father expects us to do charitable deeds for men and that He really doesn't want us to do them for others to see so we can get credit. I got this. But I am the kind of person that wants to share whatever I get or have with others. I don’t like to “do life” a lone. I wasn't looking for a reward I wanted to take the world with me on an adventure to bless others. I wanted others ideas and inputs as to how we could accomplish these 59 random acts of kindness. My little part of the world got on board and ideas flowed in on Facebook and Twitter. Some even gave us web sites to help us with ideas.
Reminiscing over my day I came to the realization that it is no wonder why people aren't very kind anymore. What was once a way of life is now something we have to consciously set out to perform. It took money, time, energy and resources which many are short on today. If we had not had water (resource) in our car we would not have been able to assist at the roadside incident. If we didn't have money we could not have paid for someone’s meal let alone put a handful of quarters in carts at Aldi’s.
The gift my friend gave me was a gift of her life. She had given an entire day, finances, energy, resources, thought life, to not only performing acts of kindness… but to show me a life lesson. Here is what I learned.
No one has all the time, energy, resources, finances, and thought life to go perform all the kindness the world needs in a day; but if you and I do something every day on a consistent basis… and so does everyone else out there—we can make this world a better place. Be an example to others every day. Your little part of the world is watching. They don’t want to “do life” a lone either. Take someone with you today and “do life” together and along the way take time to be kind.
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