“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” –Proverbs 16:24
Kindness is simple. It’s being courteous to others. It’s doing something thoughtful. It’s as simple as a smile or the sharing of a pleasant word. We can share kindness with our words and our actions.
Watching the presidential campaign this year has reminded me just how important kindness is for our country. The crass rhetoric of this political season has taken a toll on us. Harsh words have shared from podiums and behind microphones. The conversations in the media have been loud and often unproductive and social media has been less than positive during this campaign.
The Proverb above reminds us how important kindness is for the people of God. When we are kind we build each other up. When we are harsh and mean we tear each other and our society down. While standing at my polling site today I was reminded how sweet kindness is for all people. As I stood for almost 20 minutes to vote today, I watched as people smiled, shared pleasant greetings and extended common courtesy to each other as we waited for our chance to cast our vote. What I saw at my polling place was unlike anything I had heard during the campaign season. It made me happy to see such kindness.
It was small acts of intentional kindness that brought happiness to me today. Kindness helped to heal my soul and show me that we can overcome the harshness that has been so prevalent in the past few months. Individuals, offering kindness to others, make a big difference. Whether it’s showing an act of kindness, sharing words of kindness, or just smiling at someone – decide how you’ll show someone kindness today. Our kindness makes a difference.
Jamie Williamson, Edmond Campus Director of Administration
