Be Good

Ephesians 4:31-32 Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ. (CEV)

 My mother—God bless her—was good. All mothers are good, aren’t they? Poems, old saws, adages tell us so. Yet, I heard a mother tell her kids, as they were being children, “Stop!  Can’t you kids be good for just one day?” What did she mean? Don’t have fun. Don’t laugh. Don’t do… Don’t. Don’t. How do they ‘be good?’

 Even Jesus said, “Don’t call me good. Only God is good.” So, what might we mean by ‘good?’ A poem by John Boyle O’Reilly tells of some differing opinions.

 “What is real good?” I asked in musing mood.

“Order,” said the law clerk, “Knowledge,” said the school;

“Truth,” said the wise man; “Pleasure,” said the fool;

“Love,” said the maiden; “Beauty,” said the page;

“Freedom,” said the dreamer; “Home,” said the sage;

“Fame,” said the soldier; “Equity,” the seer;

Spake my heart full sadly, “The answer is not here.”

Then within my bosom, softly this I heard;

“Each heart holds the secret, Kindness is the word.”

 As Christians we are called to imitate the kindness of our Lord. We can be kind if we choose to be, and if Christ is really in us, we will be. Our kindness may be the only sermon some person out there will ever hear.

 In Ephesians 4:32 we find three different levels of kindness: “Be kind [the level of common courtesy], merciful [the level of empathy], forgiving one another, as God forgave you [the level of Christ like kindness].

 And in answer to the winds of today’s world we are implored to “Do a random act of kindness.” It is advisable to go the extra mile and try to perfect an intentional attitude of kindness. To paraphrase the mother heard above, “Be kind for just one day.” Then make it two in a row, and then keep improving the streak. You and your world will be better for it.

 All you adults listen and learn from kids. I bet you smiled.

Do random acts of kindness really help? See for yourself.