While I attend church services on Sundays for a number of very personal reasons which I will not enumerate here, I will share with you my love of a great sermon or homily. I truly enjoy a homily that contains a message that I can relate to; something that has meaning in my life. Over my years attending church, I have heard homilies that have had a significant impact on my thinking and on my actions, and if you don’t mind, I would like to share one that gave me pause and has stayed with me for a number of years.
The sermon that I am referring to was actually given by one of our church deacons, and was taken from a real world experience in his life. He discussed how each of us responded to or interacted with others in our daily lives. Using himself as an example, he related how in most of his interactions, he had or demonstrated little real concern for others, even with those who were close friends or associates. His behavior wasn’t rude or demeaning, it simply lacked an understanding of the needs or state of mind of those individuals he came in contact with during the normal course of his day. He simply did not acknowledge the impact he could have on their lives.
There are events in our lives that sometimes provide us with a new focus; an understanding as to how others impact our lives, and how we may be influencing others by our actions and our words. This individual or deacon was talking to a group or parishioners regarding how we demonstrate our love for one another, when one of his parishioners noted that his talk appeared hypocritical, in that he talked about how we should practice kindness toward one another, but in reality, he exhibited very little in the way of kindness toward others. When he heard this, he was shocked and asked the person to explain what was missing in his behavior, and the individual said, you speak of kindness as an expression of love for one another, but you demonstrate very little in the way of kindness toward others. The individual went on to say that simple acts of kindness had major impacts on others, and this deacon, this “man of the cloth,” did not seem to understand how this was missing in his own interactions. This caused him to reflect on his behavior, and to his surprise, he was bothered by his lack of attentiveness to others, and his ability to spread kindness to others, especially when they were in need. His reflection on his behavior changed his life, and he now finds himself more attentive to the needs of others.
After sharing this story of his personal reflection and the change it had on his life, I spent time reflecting on my own personal interactions. Did I really attend to the possible needs of others, were my actions just perfunctory, or was there real meaning in the way I treated others. That sermon truly impacted me, and I now give more thought to my interactions with others, and my hope is that I will always be attuned to their needs. I have now chosen a new motto which I cannot attribute to anyone, but which has great meaning in my life. I hope it is something that you will consider in your interactions with others. “In a world in which you could be anything, be kind.” To be quite honest, our world could really benefit from a little more kindness toward one another.