The Best Stories Still Inspire... and there's a reason for that
Kindness can change the world
Photo By: Flickr/StarsApart
I don't know about you, but it bothers me that I don't have a lot of power to change the world. I'm not well known, by any means. I don't have enough money to make a huge impact. I don't have a big enough voice for anyone to listen. I can't do much. But I can be kind. And so can you.
Why does kindness matter? Because all of us know what it's like to feel that we're invisible, that we're nobody, that we don't matter. All of us know what it's like to struggle in this life, to ache, to hurt, to suffer. Some of us know what it's like to struggle with suicidal thoughts. (If this is you, please call that National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. I care about you). Many of us know what it's like to feel like God doesn't love us, or He doesn't care. Life is beautiful, but it's heart-breaking, too. It's really true--everyone is fighting a tough battle that we know nothing about it. So be kind, always.
Being kind requires mercy and compassion. It requires putting away our own judgments and just meeting people where they are at. To be truly kind is to love the person before us as if they are Christ. To have true mercy is not to judge. To have true compassion is to think about what it would be like to walk in that other person's shoes.
People don't need us to "correct" them. They don't need us to tell them that they're sinners. They definitely don't need us telling them that they're going to hell. What they do need is the compassion, love, mercy, and kindness of Jesus Christ. They just need us to be with them, to love them, to care about them, to value them, and to recognize their inherent dignity, value and worth. Because sometimes... they can't see it.
Being kind is important. And it is powerful. Sometimes, we are the only Christ that people see. And when we are kind, and approachable, and loving... people start to realize that Jesus is, too. And that is powerful in ways we can't imagine. That gives us a voice in a cruel world. That gives us power to do good amidst so much hate. And it may not make a change on a big scale... but it changes the lives of the people in our world who need kindness, need Christ, so desperately.
I really believe that if all of us were truly and deeply kind, we could make the world a better place. If all of us strive to exude the kindness of Jesus, that we would be capable of making many ripples, which would then make more ripples, which would then change the world. If nothing else, it would change us. If we were kind to others and, yes, kind to ourselves, we would change people's lives, including our own.
Maybe I'll never have the power to change the world on a large scale. But I do have the power to change one person's world. And so do you.
So let's be kind. Let's change the world.
About the Author
