A few months after moving to

a small town, a woman complained to a neighbor about the poor service

at the local drug store.

She hoped the new acquaintance

would repeat her complaint to the owner. The next time she was in the

drug store, the druggist greeted her with a big smile and told her how

glad he was to see her. He provided excellent service.

Later the woman reported the

change in the druggist to her friend. She said, "I suppose you told

the druggist how poor I thought the service was, and that's why he changed?"

"No," the new acquaintance

said, "I told him you were amazed at how he had built up this small

town drug store and that you thought it was one of the best-run drug stores

you had ever seen!" Her kindness to the druggist caused kindness

from the druggist that was passed on to the customer.

Often kindness is contagious.

The owner of a drive-through coffee business in southwest Portland was

surprised one morning to have one of her customers not only pay for her

own mocha but also for the mocha of the person in the car behind her.

It put a smile on the owner's face to tell the next customer her drink

had already been paid for. The second customer was so pleased that someone

else had purchased her coffee that she bought coffee for the next customer.

This string of kindnesses, one stranger paying for the drink of the next

customer, continued for two hours and 27 customers.

We live in a world that oftentimes

is short of kindness. In fact, some people get downright cruel and cutting.

If we're not careful, we'll get calloused, crusty and cynical. That's

easy to do. You're nice to someone, and they take advantage of your kindness.

So you put up your guard and you're suspicious of another's intentions.

Or you find yourself in a cut-throat corporate world of shady ethics and

of whatever it takes to increase the profit margin.

You see people stepping on

each other and stabbing each other in the back and you find yourself in

an atmosphere of survival of the fittest. Where does kindness fit in?

The believer understands that

God calls us to practice a life of kindness. The Bible commands us to

put on kindness (Colossians 3:12) and to "be kind to one another"

(Ephesians 4:32). Kindness is a command, but it is also a deliberate choice.

The fact that kindness is commanded implies that we could choose to be

unkind, harsh or short. Kindness is a fruit of relying on God to help

us live our everyday life.

Jesus illustrates how to live

a life of kindness in the story we know as "The Good Samaritan."

Jesus was confronted by an expert in the law who asked Jesus a key question,

"Who is my neighbor?"

Jesus told about a man who

was en route from Jerusalem to Jericho. This traveler was assaulted by

thieves along the way who beat him and left him for dead. Sometime later,

a priest came down the road, but Jesus said the priest ignored the need.

Later another religious leader, a Levite, came up on the man but he would

not help either. He didn't take time to help the man. Then a Samaritan

came upon the wounded man and immediately had compassion upon him. He

administered aid to his wounds, loaded the man upon his animal, and took

it upon himself to get the man to the nearest inn where he could rest

and convalesce. The Samaritan even paid for the room!

This was a surprise twist to

the story because the Jews detested the Samaritans. While the religious

leaders who knew better just looked the other way, this humble Samaritan

responded with kindness and goodness. As the story developed, the real

question was not "Who is my neighbor?" but "To whom should

I act neighborly?"

Of course the answer is "everyone."

A related question is "How is 'being neighborly' defined?" Through

kindness, availability, usefulness, getting involved, helping anyone in

need.

I heard about a man who had

a quirky habit. He carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he

went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little

oil on the hinges until it squeaked no more. If the gate was hard to open,

he oiled the latch. He spent his entire life lubricating squeaky places

and making it easier for those who came after him. That's what God calls

each of us to do when we follow him.

Are you keeping your oil can

full?