Shocking with Kindness

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

While standing in line at a grocery store checkout a few years ago, I (jcd) noticed that the elderly woman in front of me had filled her cart with more food than she could pay for. “I just don’t understand where my money is,” she said as she desperately searched the depths of her purse. I whispered to the checker, “Total her bill, then accept whatever money she has, and put the rest on my bill.” I paid an extra eight dollars to make up the difference. The old woman never knew I had helped her, but after she shuffled away, the checker had big tears in her eyes.

“I’ve been doing this work for twenty years,” she said, “and I’ve never seen anyone do something like that before.”

It was no big deal—an insignificant eight dollars—yet kind gestures are so rare today that many people find them shocking. As a husband and wife commissioned to demonstrate God’s compassion to our world, we can make a tremendous impact through simple acts of kindness.

Just between us…

• What small kindness did I do for you this week that you appreciated?
• Am I treating you and others around us as kindly as I should?
• How does “shocking kindness” contribute to our witness for Christ?
• How can we be shockingly kind more often?

O Lord, Your kindness changed us forever. Your love broke into our lives most unexpectedly. Thank You so much! Empower us to love just like that. Amen.

• From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
  Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.