We live in what I call a “gruff
society.” Kids are bullied at
school. There are nations at war,
families at war. Why, we live in a “what
have you done for me lately” society…and that is gruff. Have you watched the TV shows our youth are
drawn to…sarcasm, put-downs, disrespect?
What has happened to “kindness”?
Allan Emery, who has not
only been successful in business but has devoted much of his time to providing
leadership to many Christian organizations, is highly respected as a shrewd,
yet kind, man. Credit his father.
Allan recalls taking an extended train trip as a
youngster. One morning in the dining
car, he heard his father, himself an important businessman, comment that the
porter seemed to be in pain and walked with a limp. The poor man, it turned out, was suffering
from an infected ingrown toenail.
Later in the morning, Allan was surprised to see
the porter coming from his parent’s sleeping car. There was a distressed look on his face, and
as he passed by big tears fell from his eyes and cascaded down his cheeks. Going into the men’s lounge, the man put his
hands over his face and cried. Allan sat
down on the bench beside him and at length asked, “Are you crying because your
toe hurts?”
“No,” said the man, “it was because of your daddy.”
With great concern, Allan pressed for the
story. His parents had returned from
breakfast and immediately approached the porter, asking about his toe. Mr. Emery explained that he wasn’t a doctor,
but he might be able to help him. He
removed the man’s shoe and sock, and carefully lanced the infected toe, cleaned
it, and carefully bandaged it. “It
doesn’t hurt at all now,” said the porter through his tears. “It feels fine.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“Well, while he was dressing my toe, your daddy
asked me if I loved the Lord Jesus. I
told him my mother did but that I did not believe as she did. Then he told me that Jesus loved me and had
died for me. As I saw your daddy
carefully bandaging my foot, I saw a love that was Jesus’ love and I knew I
could believe it. We got down on our
knees and we prayed and, now, I know that I am important to Jesus and He loves
me.”
With that, the porter burst into tears again. When his sobs subsided, he looked over at
Allan and said, “You know, boy, kindness can make you cry.”
✞ Go out every day with a heart for finding someone to be kind to.
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