the Kind Kind
"Kill your enemies." (vs.?)
W hat Bible is that in? I cannot seem to find the chapter and verse in
mine. The verse that comes closest is in fact the opposite. Jesus said,
"Love your enemies." Killing your enemies is easy. Loving your enemies, now
that is something else. It is something else. It is real
Christianity. What kind of Christianity is real? It is the kind that is
found in Christ. It is the place where truth and mercy meet. (Psalm 85:5).
I believe the real kind of Christianity is the kind kind.
When we do something wrong we cause pain and suffering. I hurt someone
and ultimately hurt own soul. That hurt that I have caused effects the one
I have hurt, and that person might hurt someone else as a result of their
own pain. This is a cycle of pain and suffering. A Palestinian, out of
hurt, anger, pain, disappointment and despair blows himself up, killing
and maiming others, causing more pain and suffering. The survivors and
those who mourn the loss of loved ones limp through life, and some pass
along their hurt and pain in how they treat others, (especially those who
look like the ones who caused their pain). There is an endless chain
reaction of misery that, like a "run away" core in a nuclear reactor has
gotten out of control and is about to have a melt-down and burn through
the core of the earth.
This chain reaction of sin started in the Garden of Eden. There has
been a lot of hurt and pain ever since, all the result of this original
sin. Christ came into the world, entered the core of the reactor and
single handedly removed, what Paul called the "sting" of death (with his
own death on the Cross). But since every individual has his own "run away"
reactor, one by one each must solve their own sin problem. Again, Christ
is willing to enter every contaminated heart, through the door of their
faith and deliver them from ultimate destruction.
Once that reactor is brought back "under control" it can produce power
and be used for good. How much "cleaning up" and decontamination must be
done depends on many things. Sometimes, there is no way to fix all the
damage done. Sometimes, as with the oil spill of the EXXON Valdeze, many
innocent creatures are covered with goop and are beyond help. Some, if
caught in time can be saved. Some once pristine coastlines will never be
the same, at least in our lifetime. But we try to contain the oil slick of
spiritual negligence and, by the grace of God, try to do better.
Every time I do or say something that is unkind, crude oil spills into
the ocean we share. Every unkind act pollutes the waters. Every kind act
cleans an oil covered stone, or water fowl, or other creature. Kindness
has its own chain reaction. "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven you" Eph. 4:32. Yes, this is the best kind. Seems that many,
still covered with goop, are still waiting for the kind kind.
1/16/03 id
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