Kindness
As we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Last week, I had to travel to Charleston, West Virginia, for a case. The flight options in recent years have gotten to the point where driving makes more sense. The bad news is that the drive is over five hours long. The good news is that I am able to stop and tend to my garden on the way, and spend the night there to break up the drive.
On Thursday, we finished up around 4pm and I left Charleston. It was a bright and sunny evening. The scenery in the mountains was amazing. A colleague had previously recommended a restaurant that was about half the distance to my destination, so I set course for dinner. The restaurant is located in a small “boutique” town not far from a resort, but it is otherwise in the middle of nowhere. The food is excellent, so I was looking forward to the stop.
When I arrived close to 6:30 pm, the place was picking up. I found a seat at the far end of the bar next to the wall and settled in. The bar area is small—the bar itself seats only five people and there are small two-seat tables immediately behind the seats against the back wall. A large dinner party promptly started filtering into the bar while they were waiting for everyone to show up. I found myself surrounded by people in my little corner seat! They were eventually seated for dinner and I had the bar area to myself again.
From where I was sitting, the outside wall of the building was to my right. To my left at the end of the short bar was the entrance to the kitchen. As dinner progressed and I enjoyed my meal, I had the opportunity to observe the coming and going of the wait staff and the owner. I started to notice that the staff’s interaction was personable and friendly. There was an air of professionalism in their exchanges about tasks to be done, “yes sir,” “yes ma’am.” The staff and owner were working in sync with each other, seamlessly helping each other service their customers. Even as the restaurant filled up and orders started flying around, the staff was smiling and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was impressed by all of this.
As I sat there and watched this, the thought came to me that I should tell the owner my observation when I left. Being an introvert at heart, normally I would immediately reject such a thought! This time, however, I felt that I should say something. After settling up for dinner, I walked by the owner on the way out. I stopped to share with her how impressed I was by the atmosphere there in the back. The staff was happy, polite and professional with each other. I found it to be refreshing and appreciated what they were doing.
To me, it seemed like a small thing in the end to have shared a compliment with a business owner about my experience in their establishment. What strikes me as a person of faith, however, is that these kinds of small acts of kindness can have a deeper impact on people than we see.
One reason I say that is because of my experience with kind and affirming Christian people. Their seemingly small acts of kindness have had a deeper impact on me. My wife is one of these people. One example is that she makes an effort to smile at me. She has been doing it for a long time now. Perhaps it required conscious effort at first (after all, I can be difficult), but having made that effort it now seems reflexive. I know that she prays for me, and her love and prayer for me are behind that smile. My experience on the receiving end has been positive! It is surprising how a little thing like a smile can actually take the edge off a difficult day or lift your spirit.
The owner of the gym where we work out is another. He is constantly making the effort to say something positive about people and encourage them where they are. He takes the time to tell the people around him that he loves them and appreciates them. This creates a culture at the gym where people actually tell each other things like that. More significantly, I also know that he is a believing Christian who prays for the people that come to his gym. His words and acts of kindness are Holy Spirit-filled. As a result, they have impact. I remember going to visit the gym one day during the pandemic when I was feeling isolated and overwhelmed. The short visit and encounter with him lifted my spirits at a moment when I was feeling very low.
These are only two examples, but I have started to notice the effect that these kinds of positive affirming actions by believers have on people around them (including me). I am a different person, with a different personality, but I can try to follow the good example of others. In my own way, I can engage in acts of Holy Spirit-filled kindness. Giving a restaurant owner a compliment is one small example. Telling my employees that I appreciate them is another example of how I have tried to change and implement this in my life. I try to be sensitive to the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit when He tells me to do or say something kind to someone.
Be kind to one another.1
The Scriptures repeatedly tell us that we should be kind to others, but sometimes it takes seeing that in action to translate it to our lives. I shared a few examples. Where have you experienced an act of Holy Spirit-filled kindness in your life? What kind of impact did it have on you? We should take time to reflect on these things and then ask the Holy Spirit to show us how we can implement the example in our own way in our daily life.
Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.2
Do we live with the expectation that our act of kindness will be Holy Spirit-filled? Do we believe that our act of kindness will have a real positive and lasting impact on people—not because of who we are, but because of the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us?
I recently came across a prophetic word that struck me. It said that we should do all the good we can to everyone we know, because if we truly knew how close we are to the end, we would not care about anything else. This is the admonition of St. Paul to the Galatians as well:
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.3
Regardless of how long we live, there is an end. Death and judgment are inevitable. But we are promised an eternal reward for our acts of kindness. Jesus said, “Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
It takes little effort to be kind to those around us. It is not a heavy lift to be kind to those we encounter in our daily walk. What can we do today to be kind to someone? At the end, will we regret not having made the effort to smile at someone? If God is kind even to the ungrateful and the selfish,4 why should we withhold our kindness from difficult people?
I pray that the Holy Spirit would enlighten you as to opportunities for acts of Holy Spirit-filled kindness in your life to those around you. May the Lord move through your acts of kindness to bless the recipients. May their lives and yours be changed for the better as a result. I lift up this prayer for you in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
You can smile—God loves you.
Eric A. Welter is an employment lawyer and trial attorney with a long-time devotion to intercessory prayer. He is a Catholic Christian who has been involved with intercessory and healing prayer ministry for over twenty years. The Abound in Hope Ministry website is https://www.aboundinhope.org/ministry.
Eric’s books on prayer are available in paperback or e-book format on amazon.com.
Effective Intercession for Our Loved Ones: Power Tools for Prayer.
(Available on amazon.com in paperback or Kindle.)
Effective Intercession for Ourselves: “Power Tools” for Prayer (Part Two). (Available on amazon.com in paperback or Kindle.)
