Thought for the day: October 19 2021

 The family of murdered M.P Sir David Amess released a statement on Sunday asking for people to set aside their differences and work towards togetherness. In the midst of shattering pain, their plea for kindness in unity is all the more poignant. To choose to practice kindness and gentleness when there is every reason to hate, takes courage. In a world polluted by animosity and everyday cruelty, to resist the seductive lure of hate is a revolutionary act.

Today the Be Kind slogan is imprinted on everything from T-shirts to mugs, but if it’s to be more than a well-intentioned catchphrase, then we have to think about what it really means to be kind. Rather than being a superficial or glib response easily shared on social media kindness is a discipline to be cultivated. Many religious traditions recognise this and it is a practise all can commit to undertaking.  Kindness is a radical act of love in an angry world increasingly permeated by casual loathing. 

Radical kindness is what Jesus hinted at when he commanded his followers to ‘love one another as I have loved you.’ To love as he loved is a costly endeavour:  it won’t cost most of us our lives – but it might mean putting aside political, social or theological boundaries and differences of opinion, and sitting beside those we find unlovable; the downright annoying and the despised.  

In his letter to the Galatians St Paul speaks of another commandment – the command to love your neighbour as yourself. He says the whole of God’s law is fulfilled in the keeping of this commandment, and it is demonstrated in what he calls the fruit of the Spirit or in other words, the result of living a productive and flourishing Christian life.  The fruit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and of course, kindness. I hope that through the patient and repetitious practice of prayer, regular worship, and immersion in the scriptures I can develop and grow good fruit, and so do the hard and uncomfortable work of being in fellowship with the people who are least like me or who I find most difficult. 

To love our neighbour as we love ourselves is easier said than done. We are often told that kindness costs nothing. That’s not true. Sometimes – as David Amess’ family knows - kindness can be the costliest thing of all.