Being Kind to All

The below story has been making its round on the internet.  

During my second month of college, our professor 

gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read

 the last one:


"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

  Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the 

cleaning woman several times. She was tall,

 dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?



 I handed in my paper, leaving the last question

 blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if 

the last question would count toward our quiz grade.



"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers,

 you will meet many people. All are significant. They

 deserve your attention and care, even if all you do 

is smile and say "hello."



  I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her

 name
 was Dorothy. 

Not sure if this story is true or not, but the lesson has great truth to it.   One year during seminary I worked part-time at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in NYC. During the summer I went to full time, working the weekends as a youth pastor and the week days as one of their janitors.  It was a great experience.  I found that during the week when I had my janitor uniform on, people that did not know me, would often walk right past me with little or no acknowledgment.  On the weekend when I was one of the pastors my interactions were very different.   The above story reminds us all of the powerful ministry of being kind to all.  Whatever else we may do or may not do - we should certainly train ourselves to be kind to all people.  It may not be an easy lesson to learn, for its secret is forgetting ourselves and thinking of others- and this does not always come easily.  But it can be learned.  To begin with, there must be a gentle heart - to inspire the gentle life.  We must love people - if we do not , no training will ever make us kind.  But if the heart is full of the love of Christ, the disposition will be loving, and we can teach the lips to speak ever gracious words, and the hands to do always the things of kindness. 

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. - Mother Teresa

Zechariah 7:9-10 ESV

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgment, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."

Colossians 3:12

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved- clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."