A kindness given...

Kindness is the oil that takes the friction out of life.

Bible text: But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. (Galatians 5:22 NIV).


After two years of marriage, Pete no longer saw his wife as interesting, fun, or attractive. In his mind, he regarded her as a sloppy housekeeper, overweight, and a woman with a faultfinding personality. He sought out a divorce attorney, who advised him: "Pete, if you really want to get even with your wife, start treating her like a queen! Do everything in your power to serve her, please her, and make her feel special. Then, after a couple of months of this royal treatment, pack your bags and leave. That way you?ll disappoint her as much as she has disappointed you." Pete could hardly wait to enact the plan! He picked up a dozen roses on his way home, helped his wife with the dinner dishes, brought her breakfast in bed, and began complimenting her on her clothes, cooking, and housekeeping. He treated her to an out-of-town trip.

After three months, the attorney called and said, "Well, I have the divorce papers ready for you to sign. In a matter of minutes, you can be a happy bachelor."

"Are you crazy?" Pete said. "My wife has made so many changes. I wouldn?t think of divorcing her now."

Kindness extended toward another person may not change the other person, but it does change the person showing kindness? it makes them kinder!

Always holding somebody up...

The heart is the happiest when it beats for others.

Bible text: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 NIV).

One of the people most admired by Charles Swindoll is
Dawson Trotman, who died after helping to rescue two drowning girls. Says Swindoll:

"When Dawson Trotman passed away he probably left a legacy of discipleship on this earth that will never be matched except perhaps in the life of Jesus Christ Himself. I've become a real student of Dawson Trotman and believe wholeheartedly in the methods of discipleship that he taught and emulated throughout his days. He died in Schroon Lake, New York. He died of all things in the midst of an area that he was expert in - he drowned. He was an expert swimmer. The last few moments he had in the water he lifted one girl out of the water. He went down and got the other girl and lifted her out of the water and then submerged and was not found again until the dragnet found him a few hours later... Time ran an article on Trotman's life the next week, and they put a caption beneath his name, and it read, 'Always Holding Somebody Up.' In one sentence, that was Trotman's life - investment in people... holding them up."

Discipleship is not having others follow you as much as it is lifting others up to see the Lord and then serving them so they can follow Him wholeheartedly.