Just Try to be Nice

I was doing some online browsing and found an old blog post on the Britannica site: http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2007/06/books-bashing-faith/. It's about the popularity of books written by atheists and questions why that is. The author encourages believers to follow their true faith because the world is watching. If believers lived according to what they say they believe in, the atheists in this world would have little to argue against.

It's an excellent point. I just ordered a new book, How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else, Michael Gates Gill. In it, he tells the story of his broken life and how he went to work at Starbucks in desperation. There he found encouragement and renewed faith in humanity. I wanted to get the book because I was curious about how he was treated to make him so grateful to be working there. It all boils down to decency, respect and kindness.

Why, oh why is the church so failing in this that the church is the last place people turn to for decency, respect and kindness? It is my opinion that kindness is the essential element in the Golden Rule: Do unto others the way you would have them do unto you. It is foundational to the basics of Christianity - love God first and foremost and be nice to people. If you do that, you're pretty much good to go.

So, why is it so hard? Why haven't we seen miracle signs and wonders that Jesus said we would see? Because we haven't been obedient in the basics - simply being kind. And we all know who we're supposed to be kind to, as the story of the Good Samaritan tells us. Anyone can be kind to friends and family, if they work at it, but being kind to complete strangers, people you don't trust, the enemy, that takes special kindness.

Luckily, kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit, which are all free to believers. We can ask for as much as we want, we just need to be faithful to use what we get. Want more kindness? Ask, ask, ask. Then be responsible with your gift. Spread it around and don't expect to be repaid for what you do. Even if you're rebuffed, be kind. It's your new mission. The world is watching. What are you going to do?