Harnessing The Law Of Kindness

I was reading Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary yesterday and ran across this phrase... "The law of love and kindness is written in the heart, and shows itself in the tongue." And I could not shake it the rest of the day.

For the last few months, I have had a great burden on my heart concerning violence in the world and the racial and civil unrest America is experiencing right now. It saddens me to see people being bullied and treated disrespectfully by others. Sometimes they do it for no other reason than for sport. It does not make any difference what race or ethnicity we are, we all deserve to be treated with equal respect... following the Golden Rule towards ALL at ALL times.

When the law of love and kindness is ruling the heart, this godly person would dare not mistreat another human being, not for love nor money. That is the kind of world I wished we lived in, where people are just plain old nice to one another and followed the Golden Rule all the time.

That said, I went to Walgreen's and was heading fast down the straight-away when Primadonna dressed to the hills in leopard print (even her 5-inch heel sandles and tippy-toes) almost crashes head on into me coming out of one of the aisles. I was already in a foul mood when I went into the store and instead of her apologizing to me, I apologized to her and Primadonna sashayed on as though it was my fault and I should've apologized to her.

Because I was already in a foul mood, that drove my irritability radar soaring into the red zone. "Miss Thing with her leopard print toe nails thinks she is too good for apologies," I thought. By the time I made it to the check out counter, guess who lands right in front of me? Yes!! Leopard toes herself. So now my irritation is directed to Lord, "You would let her get right in front of me."

At the end of her transaction, she drops twelve cents on the floor. Without thinking, I dove to the floor and picked it all up and handed it to her. She gave me a sincere God bless you and walked out of the store.

In that moment, my heart melted, I forgot about my foul mood and said, "Thank You Lord, You just gave the devil a black eye." I feel bad that all through the store I was thinking bad thoughts about my sister in Christ who happens to dress differently than me. Perhaps if I had not been speeding like a gazelle through the store, we wouldn't have almost had a head on collision. In truth, I did owe her an apology for judging her the way I did, simply because I was angry at someone else.

When I got home and pulled into the driveway, the Lord sent a beautiful bluebird to visit me on my front porch as a reminder that He is with me always... even concerning the thing that initially got me in the foul mood to begin with. I sat in my car and watched the bluebird play in my front yard for a minute or two and the peace of God flooded my soul and washed away the thoughts wreaking havoc in my emotions.

The law of love and kindness is written in the heart.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:12-14)

Go in peace.