Day 5 - Courage to Be Kind

We live in a day and a time when it is so easy to be a bully, to be discourteous, disrespectful, and rude, particularly in social media. So many in society push the need to be real, and authentic, which far to often means saying what ever comes to mind, no matter how harsh it may be. The reality is, that the idea of  being "authentic" is nothing new. Disparagement of others and bullying has been around since the beginning of time. It is a tactic that Satan, and those who subject themselves to him, have always used. It is so easy to practice, and so cowardly.

An article written by a friend of mine, Patty Sampson, entitled Make Kindness Cool Again included the following experience of one of her friends and her friend's son:

A friend of mine is a fellow autism mom. She recently shared a story about going to a youth activity at her church to pick up her son. He entered the gym to meet her, and was yelled at by several of the other kids that he was not welcome and he had to ‘get out’. He was verbally abused right in front of her. It was a terrible experience. (Make Kindness Cool Again - https://www.LDSblogs.com)

What a sad situation. How tragic, that those youth all of whom should have known better, should forget the Savior's injunction to love God and love our neighbor as our selves (See Matthew 22:37-39).

Perhaps even more tragic was the fact that, as Patty also indicated in the article, "there were kids who weren’t happy he was being yelled at. But they wanted friends, and thought they had to be mean to get them." Those youth lacked the courage to be kind.

Unlike those youth, we can choose to have the courage to be kind. We can choose to speak out and speak up in situations where it may not be the easiest thing to do, or the most popular. We can choose to do so because it is the right thing to do - remembering the words from our wonderful hymn to "do what is right, let the consequence follow," (See Do What is Right).

​Our Savior had the courage to be kind and showed us the more excellent way. He showed us the powerful effect that love can have as shown through both our words and our deeds. Truly "we love Him", as John wrote, "because he first loved us," (See 1 John 4:18). In all His interactions he showed love and respect, even in His rebukes, which the guilty took, and still take, to be hard because they were direct and convicted their consciences. He spoke as He spoke to them out of love for their souls. 
​
Can we not learn from the Saviors example? The answer is a resounding yes. I've found the following helpful in my own life:

• Pray - Pray to our loving Father in Heaven for help to see all of His children as He sees them. 
• Pray - Pray diligently and continually for the Love of Christ to be in our hearts!
• Pray - Pray for understanding, for the ability to listen, and wisdom to know what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. The old proverb, "if you can't say anything kind, don't say anything at all," is just as applicable today, as it has ever been. Perhaps even more so!
• Study Christ's life and learn from His interactions with others.
• Pray for the ability to put what you learn into action.
• Go forth and do.

Yes, I included a lot of praying in there, but, as Mormon taught his Son Moroni, as we are meek and lowly before the Lord, we will have the Holy Ghost, which "filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer," (See Moroni 8:25). As we pray with faith, we will be filled with Christ's love and we will go and do as He did. We will have the courage to be kind. By so doing we will be able to make a difference in the lives of everyone with whom we interact. 

And that will be truly...

WONDERFUL!