“I RECENTLY heard several stories about kindness: a passer by helping a young man collapsed in the street, calling an ambulance and staying with him until help arrived; a woman making beautiful bookmarks for a charity book sale, and a secret benefactor paying two ladies’ lunch bill.
They set me thinking about kindness.
Kindness can be being friendly or generous or considerate, usually without expecting anything in return.
We can all recall times when we have been treated kindly (and probably when we have been treated unkindly too).
We remember how it made us feel and the impact it had.
It’s not surprising then, that research suggests kindness can improve mental and physical health by reducing stress, increasing self-esteem and promoting positive relationships.
And acts of kindness can be contagious as they can cause a ripple effect of positive behaviour in communities.
Kindness is one of the characteristics of God.
In Psalm 107 we read: ‘O give thanks to the Lord, for his loving kindness endures for ever’.
In Biblical accounts of Jesus’ life his interactions with other people are often portrayed as being kind.
Kindness is also one of the Fruits of the Spirit which Christians are encouraged to show in their lives, and can appear in many ways, from small gestures like a smile or a kind word, to substantial acts of help.
How might you show an act of kindness today?”
Revd Catherine Bowstead leads Wokingham Methodist Church, where Sunday services take place at 10.30am.
For information, visit: wokinghammethodist.org.uk
