Being Kind and Gracious

An article in Channel News Asia relates an engineer whose eyesight became blurry and which would deteriorate over time. His supervisor when told about his condition remarked: “I don’t know what else you could do.” It was a disheartening comment. His general manager (now CEO), however, created a new role for him that leveraged his past experience. This engineer remarked that without a job, he could not be doing sports, go on holidays, or have a lifestyle. He could not do anything. Hence the general manager had given him more than a job—It was a new lease of life. In handling emails, the company also took the trouble to adjust to his needs.

Another person needed wheelchairs to move about. A German bank not only employed him but also made things more accessible for him. This bank also took in another handicap employee.

These accounts are heartwarming. It speaks of kindness and examples worth our emulation. Most employers would probably find it simply too unproductive to employ people with handicaps, much less adjust to their needs. But this is what kindness is all about.

Some people may seem more “troublesome” or not so likeable because they are different from us in the way their body works or the way they talk or do things. How should Christians regard these people?

Jesus urges us in Luke 6:35-36:

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Some people would give special attention to people who are rich, attractive, well-behaved, clever, and sociable. But our Heavenly Father does not regard people this way. Neither should we as His children. The more unattractive a person, the more love and mercy we should show to that person. Then we will receive a reward from the Father, the highest privilege of being called the children of God. And as children of God, you will receive the kingdom of God because the kingdom is given only to God’s children. This is great reward, one that is given to people who are kind to those who do not deserve it.

Many years ago, in a church setting someone introduced a Christian brother as, “He is Professor so and so.” Why is emphasis given to his secular job title? Does that job title make him a better Christian? Is a factory worker a lesser Christian than a professor? If that person is explaining what that professor does for a living, he could have just said, “His name is so and so. He is a professor in this or that university.” But that also means everyone should be introduced this way. If not, we might appear to show favouritism to the rich and powerful.

Let us regard people from God’s perspective. God does differentiate between one who has the life of Jesus, and one who does not have the life of Jesus. God does differentiate between those who love the Lord and those who do not because these have eternal consequences. But God loves everyone equally. And this is how we should treat everyone: loving people without condition, regardless of who they are or what they can do. This is mercy and true love.