Last year, at this point, I was still trapped inside the bubble called high school where I was surrounded by young people like myself. Yes, most of them weren't kind most of the time, but I attributed that to age; to being too immature to care about others. This year God gave me the chance to get a job, have many new experiences and meet and interact with many people, mostly adults. This made me realize that the absence of kindness I had noticed is not limited to young people.
Lack of kindness, lack of chivalry and lack of good will are illnesses to which we are getting accustomed. We are so accustomed to rudeness and indifference that when someone is kind he or she stands out from the crowd. It shouldn't be this way. Rude people should be the minority. Indifference and coldness should be almost nonexistent.
Is it really so hard to hold a door open for a lady or help her carry something heavy? Is it really so hard to help a person pick something they dropped? Is it so hard to smile and say "good morning" when you walk past a fellow human being? Is it so hard to tell someone they look good today? Is it so hard to let a car go before you while driving? Is it really so hard to lend a hand to a hurting friend? Is it really so hard to try to cheer up a brother or sister who is looking a little blue?
I was raised to perform these little gestures for people, and I'm honestly sick of walking through life seeing people treat each other like they are worth next to nothing, especially in the Christian community. We are commanded to "love one another" and "bear one another's burdens." Why, then, do we not take the extra moments to be kind and loving? Why do we devise ways to tear each other down? Why do we see hurt in each other's eyes and decide to ignore it, acting with indifference? Why do we insert malice or double motives into everything we do for people? Why don't we treat each other with sincere and transparent kindness?
Maybe we forget the effect that a simple smile or kind word can have on a person's day. We forget that with words we can build up or tear down. We forget that inappropriate jokes, spoken without thinking, can be like knives. We forget that we have the power to make each other's life a little better, a little brighter.
I want to encourage you, people, to live like Jesus lived. To stop hiding behind stupid excuses to justify your lack of kindness, tact, or humanity. To go the extra mile even if you won't get anything in return. To lift your eyes and realize that this life is not about you, but about Christ in you and the impact you can have in other people's lives.
It's time to stop living selfishly and bring kindness back into style. I promise you won't regret it, and there won't be an absence of helping hands when you need them.
