Leadership Thought: You Don’t Have to Wait until Feb 17^th to Celebrate It: Start Today!

Dear Friends.

I love feel good stories, and the other day I witnessed one while watching a portion of the Kelly Clarkson show. No, I am not a regular day time talk show junkie, but this one caught my attention as I was passing by our television set.

A woman had ordered food for herself and her three children at a fast-food restaurant. As she got to the pickup window, she realized she had left her wallet  home. She profusely apologized  and was ready to move on without her order, but to her surprise the high school cashier  said, “Don’t worry Mam,  I got it.”  

After refusing his offer several times, he handed her the order and told her to receive it and move on as he didn’t want her holding up the line.

The woman was so impressed with the young man’s generosity that she posted the story on Facebook. Someone happened to see it, and recognizing and appreciating this young man’s kindness, she decided to honor him by starting a Go Fund Me page. She knew the young cashier and that he had taken the job to help save to buy a car. 

Within a day the story went viral, and the boy’s mother discovered his kindness.  Her son has never mentioned the event, and when asked about it, he simply told his mother he didn’t think it was a big deal, and that he had done the same thing several times before.

Within a week the Go Fund Me effort had far exceeded the amount need to buy a car; it had raised over $ 40,000.

What made the story so special to me was the fact that when the young man was interviewed, he was so surprised that his random act of kindness had garnered so much attention.

I didn’t know it, but there is actually a Random Kindness Week, and it’s coming up next month. But you don’t have to wait until February 17th to celebrate It; you can start celebrating it today. And if you want to excel at it, why not try and practice it every day?

I would remind you that one of the fruits of the spirit is kindness (Gal.5:22).

And the prophet Micah writes, “He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with your Lord” (Micah 6:8).

This morning I 'googled' “acts of kindness” and I came up with a list of 35 simple ways to show it: Send a card in the mail to someone you miss,, smile or give a friendly nod at a stranger you see while on a walk or doing errands, if you are in the grocery store and have some extra time, let someone else go in front of you, and yes pay for someone’s order behind you…you get the idea. You act may not seem earth shattering to you, but from a kingdom perspective who knows it’s significance. I know one thing it will do; it will cause God to smile.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “In a gentle way you can shake the world.”

And don’t forget what another religious teacher has taught us when he wrote the definition of love: “Love is kind” 1 Corinthians 13:4).

Start sowing kindness and don’t ever forget “that hatred and anger are powerless when met with kindness.”

Yours in faith and friendship.

Tom