Kindness Multiplied!

Today I was listening to the radio and they were talking about people paying for the person behind them in line at the drive thru.  I thought that was such a awesome way of doing an act of kindness.  The person in the restaurant manning the drive thru, had called in and said that from that one act of kindness 7 other people behind them did the same thing for the people behind them in line.

As a Christian sometimes I find it hard to imagine that one small act of kindness does anything past a moment.  There are times where, I hold a door open for someone, give a smile, leave a quarter in the cart at Aldi rather than reclaiming it, or stay late and see a patient for someone else.   But some days I wonder if any of those things really make any long lasting dent in our hard human hearts.

Listening to that story on the radio made me realize that all these acts of kindness do make an impact.  It may not be a miraculous lightning bolt from the sky, but it does make an impact and can multiply!

It makes reflect on times when the smallest thing lifted me up. Some days when I was down and having a bad day even the smallest kind gesture from another person lifted me up.  Over time, all those little things add up and helped me see God through the tough times and they still do today. Usually I am able to then give better to someone else that day or return the favor for someone else. I forget sometimes. And the devil is happy to try and help me get distracted and forget.

But today was a very good reminder. Here are some verses that are good reminders of kindness.

• Proverbs 12:25: " Anxiety weighs down the heart,
  but a kind word cheers it up" NIV
• Proverbs 14:31: "...but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." NIV
• Proverbs 19:16: "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done." NIV 

So when you are waiting in line at the register in Walmart and you let a frantic mom and her kids cut in front of you in line, or wave at the neighbor, or encourage a co-worker, you DO make an impact! You may not know the full outcome, but it does make a difference.  I bet the first person, that paid for the order of the car behind him in the drive thru, had no idea after he drove off that his gift of love multiplied by 7 that day.  And how many people after hearing that story on the radio will try it one day and show the same love to others multiplying it even more.  I don't know about you but I'm going to try it :) So you can at least say multiplied by 8 :)

What acts of kindness have inspired or lifted you up?  Remember even if you don't see it, every act of kindness multiplies, and shows the love of God to others!