Be Kind

Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Every time I drop my 7 and 9-year-old girls off at school, just before they run excitedly inside, I whisper the same words in their ears: 'Work hard, Have fun and Be Kind.' As a father, I want my girls to practise kindness so that it becomes their natural way with people. Dealing with customers and suppliers every day, I understand the power of kindness.

It does not cost us anything to be kind to others, yet the impact of our kind actions is often immeasurable or often unknown. As Amelia Earhart, the famous female aviator said: 'A single act of kindness throws roots out in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.'

Back in May last year I attended an Annual General Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, for a company that I invest in. One evening during the weekend I was in a restaurant sitting at the bar eating on my own and I started talking to a very successful retired finance executive. Given my curious nature, I asked many questions all evening but one piece of wisdom he offered stuck with me and that was: 'Just be nice!' He went on to say that a great deal of his success was attributed to being a kind person who was always helpful to colleagues and the go-to person for anything that needed to get done.

As we start pursuing our 2024 goals and God's plans for our lives, it is important to make sure we consider those around us along the journey and make the effort to Be Kind. Jesus' behaviour is the perfect model - the ultimate kind leader, saviour and friend. The mystery of kindness is that it is impossible to quantify its impact but its evidence is easily seen. Who can you show kindness to today?

Prayer - Lord I pray that you will make me more compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. More like you.