Servants of Kindness

 

Can you remember the fad of having a “fitness tracker”? It looked like a watch, yet sleeker. I believe most of them did keep time, but their main purpose was to keep track of the steps one took each day and some even monitored one’s sleep patterns. When worn regularly, the “fitness tracker” was intended to be an encouragement to help one toward a more proper way of physical fitness and better health. Now the same thing is on my phone.

I once contemplated the idea of a “kindness tracker”. Not that a mechanical one could be made, but the very thought that I could somehow, each day, keep track of acts of kindness that I do would be great. It would not be for me to share with anyone, or compare myself with anyone, or to compete with anyone. No, it would be just to keep myself motivated to do cordial things for others. I could keep a running total in my mind throughout the day and then think back over the list at the end of the day. This would supply a certain amount of satisfaction at the end of a trying day, or maybe, if the total were quite low, it could supply motivation for the next day.

There’s an old story that used to make the rounds of church bulletin articles and sermons. It told of a man who wanted his son to have something to do that would make him feel good about himself. The son was lazing around one snowy afternoon, and the father told his son to get off the couch and go to the neighbor’s house and shovel the snow off their sidewalk and driveway before they got home from work …and without the neighbor knowing who did it. Ah, there’s the rub! There is an element of self-esteem and satisfaction that should not be fed by someone else acknowledging or rewarding an act of kindness. We should do it just because it is the kind thing to do. We can enrich our lives and the lives of others by being more aware of our acts of kindness, as well as those done by others.

[Galatians 6:10] “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” A story is told of a high government official coming into President Lincoln’s office and was startled to find the chief executive shining his shoes! “Sir!” the man cried out in astonishment, “Surely you don’t polish your own shoes!” “Of course,” replied the humble President. “Whose do you polish?” The greatness of a man is demonstrated by his humility. Truly, no life has exhibited humility as supremely as the life of Jesus. As deity in the flesh, Jesus “made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant…” (Philippians 2:7). The meaning here is that Jesus laid aside His rank and dignity and became in respect to that as nothing; He assumed a humbler rank and station. Did not Jesus himself affirm, “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Our God has given us a name above all other names, that worthy name “Christian” (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16; James 2:7). Did you know that the name Christian is found only three times in the Bible? But the word ‘servant’ is used to refer to God’s people some thirty-two times in the New Testament. Certainly, we cannot give our life as a ransom for others as did our Savior, but we can certainly ‘die to self’ that we may be servants of others. Even in prophecy, Jesus was called “My servant…”, but in that same prophecy, God called him “My Elect One, in whom My soul delights!” (Isaiah 42:1-4; Matthew 12:18-21). God is not well pleased with us when we seek to stand above our fellow believers, but only when we are willing to humble ourselves in service to them. In the eyes of God, the greatest among man is first the servant of men. “He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:33-35).