Not Complicated
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Take three simple ideas: 1.) Greet people warmly, 2.) Make eye contact, 3.) Act friendly. Fold these three actions into your regular way of treating people how a simple greeting, or a smile, or an acknowledgment had a significant impact on someone. Most times, it happened without the giver being particularly aware of what was happening. It was later that they found out how that one instance of a simple gift of treating someone kindly was so important to the recipient.
You say, ‘But I already do those things.’ Well, then, you are a blessed gift giver! Keep doing them!
But . . . do you do it as much as you could? Do you think you probably do it as an automatic behavior to people around you? Or does it actually happen less frequently than you think? That’s the point of this lesson. It’s so simple to do these things that we perhaps take them for granted.
Jesus — God, speaking to us in the person of Jesus — was trying to tell us in many different ways that it is simple. He just wants us to love each other. He calls us to loving kindness. We must fully grasp that message from Jesus.
It’s simple — Be kind to people, every day. And there’s the rub. You say, ‘Be Kind’? Isn’t everyone already?
I’m reminded of a woman years ago, who, upon being invited to attend a Kindness Event, questioned why she should go. Questioned why she would need to go. “I’m the kindest person I know,” she said. And to me, those words signaled that she didn’t truly understand what we were talking about. In the same way that a humble person doesn’t talk about how humble she is, neither does a person who offers gifts of kindness easily.
Let’s pause for a moment and approach this from a different angle.
Do you see how thick the Bible is — how many pages there are in it — and then see it as a giant Rule Book? Do you mentally catalog all the ‘shoulds’ that you read in its pages? Are you also aware of all the ‘thou shalt nots’ that are found there? Who can keep all of those rules in mind!
Or do you see that reading the Bible with an over-arching understanding that all these restrictions we are reading are not ‘rules’ from God; they are not lists of ways to be good Christians; they are formulas to make others and ourselves happy.
That’s astounding, compared to what we have understood in the past! Let’s take Gratitude as an example. We get the message from our Bible studies that we are supposed to be grateful. We are supposed to be thankful. But why?
Why should we show gratitude? Is that what makes God happy? Is that what will make us appear as better persons in His eyes? Are we better, more faithful Christians when we live a life of gratitude?
Or . . . is it that living that way makes life better for us while we live here on earth?
Yes! It makes us happier. It makes us healthier!
This phenomenon has been researched extensively in a variety of public universities. Professor Robert Emmons, from California State University-Davis, is the leading student of this timeless biblical behavior. His research did not examine it as a biblical idea, but as a common human activity. In his book, Thanks, Dr Emmons, who is a Christian, reports on the UC Davis research into the practice of thoughtful gratefulness and the discovery of the accrual of benefits that come from gratitude.
According to Emmons, the words ‘diligently thankful’ mean regularly listing, reflecting, and focusing on specific items, actions, inventions, experiences in nature, with people, places, or articles. Those who made a daily practice of consciously calling to mind, remembering, and even writing down what they were grateful for were healthier and happier. They got more sleep; they had fewer illnesses; they were more determined and enthusiastic. They had longer lives and closer family ties. They were more likely to have helped someone else; and they were perceived by others to be more generous and helpful.
Another research study was on people who were going through organ transplants. There were two groups of people at one university: one group was immersed and indoctrinated in the gratitude concept; the other was not. The results of the study showed that people who were actively working at gratitude actually healed faster.
Other groups have found that gratitude lessens depression. They have discovered that the antidote to mild depression is to immerse yourself daily in thankfulness and gratitude. They found that there are better heart rhythms, and that it affects your blood count and offers a whole lot of other benefits.
The point is that God / Jesus wants us to live a life of gratitude because it makes life better for us NOW. It’s not a way of earning points for the after-life; it’s not a way to get God to view us more favorably — it is the way to be more blessed each day that we wake up and are able to breathe for another twenty-four hours.
So, now, getting back to the main point of this commentary: Jesus’ teachings are ways to make life on earth better — for us . . . and for people around us. We can make life better for others by loving them. And then, to take it a step further, the way to love people is to be kind to them. Being kind is a simple act — it doesn’t have to be complicated!
An example: Offer compliments.
Yes, of course you compliment people—from time to time. But did you make an effort to offer a compliment to the checker in the grocery store today?
How long has it been since you offered a compliment to the mailman, or the UPS man at your door? Think about giving a compliment to the clerk at the post office when you go today.
Offering compliments is a simple way of being kind and showing love. Don’t let those people miss out on your gift because you were busy taking care of business!
Jim Kok’s book, The Miracle of Kindness, is packed with ideas of simple, practical things you can do to ‘raise the bar’ in your own efforts to dispense kindness. It has dozens of stories of what people have done. His book is a handbook, a reference book, to keep feeding yourself with ways you can improve the world around you by the little things you do.
Here’s one example from the book. A man said, “I just got back from a week-long cruise to Mexico. One of my friends on the cruise had a very hard time finding someone to come in to water and feed his dogs while he was gone . . . so I came up with my new good neighbor plan.”
He sent out a letter to the twenty-four apartments in his complex that said, ‘Call me if you need someone to water and feed your cats or dogs, fish or birds while you are gone. I will walk your dogs if needed. Call me if you need indoor or outdoor plants watered while you are gone. Call me if you need a lift to or from the airport, or a lift to the car dealer — whatever. Call me for any other needs you have where a good neighbor can help.’
That is being kind. And it wasn’t complicated!
Do simple things. They make a difference!
Make a resolution to daily do a little more.
