thankful thursday - random acts of kindness

Earlier this week a storm hit our neighborhood bringing rain and strong winds. Our big black trash can, full of trash, was on the curb waiting for trash pick-up when the wind blew it over while I was out doing errands. I arrived home in time to see my "older" neighbor, a man with mobility disabilities, right my trash can and ensure the lid was closed. He didn't know if I was home or not - he just took care of it so my trash would get picked up. What a blessing that random act of kindness was to me!

According to several online sources, the phrase "random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty" first appeared in our culture in the early 1980's and has been attributed to various people. But I think the concept began much, much earlier in history.

The Bible tells us we are to "be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:32). It also says "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8). And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Some Bible scholars make a distinction between "random" acts of of kindness and those that are "intentional" with the implication that, as Christians, ours should be intentional. Hmmm.

I think they can be both.

Intentional is defined as "something done with intent (the act of determining mentally upon some action)" and random is defined as "unpredictable." As Christians, being kind should be intentional. But the actual act of kindness as well as the situation is often random. I could give money to the homeless person I encounter on the street, or buy him a meal or give him my coat or direct him to a shelter or pray with him. My neighbor could have righted my trash can (as he did) or called me to let me know it had blown over or, because of his mobility issues, he could have asked another neighbor to remedy the situation. All of these would demonstrate kindness but which one you do is random.

Maybe the more important thing is to be looking for opportunities to demonstrate kindness - randomly and intentionally.