Your Kindness Matters

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.

Proverbs 3:27 (NIV)

Those who suffer don't choose to suffer, just as those who can't afford to feed their families don't choose their circumstances. When life's trials come, they don't warn us of their arrival or give us time to prepare. If they did, no one would suffer from stress or anxiety. We often hear of people who succumb to alcoholism, drug addiction, or even suicide because they can no longer bear the weight of their pain.

It is the awareness of this reality that inspires the author of this verse to say not to refuse to do good to those who suffer. He even goes further by saying to do it to those who deserve it. He doesn't say that it's an obligation and that you must do it. What he implies is that when others suffer, your heart should feel compassion to the point of knowing that they deserve your support, whatever form it may take. God did not inflict suffering upon us to punish us; it is our sin that has led us to it.

Being sinners, we are all susceptible to suffering. That is why, when we have the opportunity, we must reach out to those who bear a heavy burden to help them according to our means. Jesus himself places particular importance on our acts of kindness towards others when he says that when we feed the hungry, it is him we are feeding. Do not use the misfortune of others to criticize them, but be a source of blessings for them, for God will bless you in return.

May the grace and peace of God be with you all.