A CHARACTER OF KINDNESS

“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:39-42 NIV)

Many of us find that there is much more to life than getting and keeping. True fulfillment comes with the responsibilities we assume: to care for our families, and to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves. This is more than a familiar saying; it is the foundation of a meaningful life.

A person shows his or her character in kindness and charity. And what is true in our lives is also true in the life of our nation. You can fairly judge the character of society by how it treats the weak, the vulnerable, the most easily forgotten. Our own country, at its best, strives to be compassionate, and this isn't easy. Compassion is not merely a vague feeling of empathy, it is a demanding virtue. It involves action and effort, and deep conviction - a conviction as old as Scripture and present at the founding of our country. We believe that everyone has a place and a purpose in this world, that every life matters, that no insignificant person was ever born.

 -- President George W. Bush, in the 2004 Commencement Address at Concordia University Wisconsin

IRRITATION AND RESENTMENT

"[Love] is not irritable or resentful…"  (1 Corinthians 13:5b NRSV)

It certainly is easy to be irritated at one another, and to become resentful of one another. Sometimes, of course, these reactions may be caused by fatigue or other circumstances. Husbands and wives know how easy it is to react hastily under the pressure of family tensions. But they know also that such reactions do not really contradict the genuine love that unites them. In the less personal relations of society this is not nearly so obvious. So we need to be aware that irritation and resentment are destructive. They betray lack of trust and goodwill.

It is intended "that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another" (12:25). If we learn to care for one another, and trust one another, we will be less inclined to burst out in irritation or resentment. 

-- Chester A. Pennington in “A More Excellent Way”

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