My blog is designed to show seekers and new believers a true and honest view of the Christian life and to remind those of us who have been walking that path for a while of the important values we need to cherish. On occasion I feel compelled to revisit a particular quote or passage of scripture. This is one of those occasions.
During my life I have looked for opportunities to perform acts of kindness for loved ones and strangers alike. Now I find myself on the receiving end of such acts and I can tell you that both doing and receiving has blessed me greatly. When God took my wife home to be with Him, he put five women and five men in my life who look after me with acts of Christian kindness each in their own way. Those sisters and brothers in Christ know how much they mean to me.
One of my favorite Mother Teresa quotes is, “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face; kindness in your eyes; kindness in your smile.” There are a lot of things in this life that are easier said than done. For Christians, being kind is not one of them. Kindness is simply love in action. So our kindness toward others is just sharing with them the love that God has placed in our hearts. It should be as natural for us as breathing. People may forget what you said to them or even what you did for them, but they will never forget the way you made them feel when they were with you.
Sometimes our acts of kindness may not be well received. A relative once told me, “When you give someone in trouble a helping hand, that person will always remember you when they get into trouble again.” I thought at the time that was a very cynical observation, but we have all encountered people who think kindness is a weakness they can manipulate and use to their advantage. That leads me to my all-time favorite Mother Teresa quote that was found written on the wall of her living quarters in Calcutta.
People are often unreasonable and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway!
If you are kind people may accuse you of ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway!
If you are honest people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway!
If you find happiness people may be jealous;
Be happy anyway!
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow;
Do good anyway!
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough;
Give your best anyway!
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
I’m sure she put that on her wall as a constant reminder of whom she was acting on behalf of. It truly is between us and God, isn’t it?