spontaneous kindness…

proverbs 3.27-28 (tev & ms) says, never walk away from someone who deserves help. your hand is GOD's hand for that person. never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now. notice the word never twice in that passage. never walk away from somebody who deserves your help.

the world is full of wounded. i wonder how many people in your life you walk around with who are wounded – the walking wounded. they may not be wounded physically, but they’re wounded emotionally. they’re wounded spiritually. they’re wounded relationally. they’re wounded financially. and they need your love. they need your kindness. you don’t wait for better conditions. you don’t say, “i'll call them in a few days.” you do it now.

when someone loses a loved one, you don’t say, “i’ll wait a while, and then i'll contact them.” when someone you work with gets fired, they lose their job, you don’t say “i'll wait a month, and then i'll contact them.” when someone has a miscarriage, you don’t say, “i'll wait a while, and then i'll contact them.” no, you do it now! spontaneous kindness. seize the moment.

the good samaritan shows that if you want to genuinely become a kinder person, you must be willing to first of all be interrupted. kindness doesn’t happen on your schedule. it happens on their schedule. that’s why they need kindness. at that moment, you’ve got to drop everything you’ve got.

have you figured out that love is often inconvenient? this guy probably missed his sales meeting he was going to in jericho. maybe he lost a big deal because he stopped to help a stranger. love is often inconvenient.

think of the excuses this guy could have given. he could have said, “i’ve got my own problems to think about. my business is important. i’ve got important business to care for. besides – the guy’s probably already dead. i probably can’t help him anyway. it’s probably a lost cause.”

anytime you want an excuse for being unkind, the devil will be right there to give you one. he will gladly give you a thousand excuses on why you don’t have the time, energy, money, effort, whatever to do what needs to be done.

just a thought from the front porch…