testing human kindness....

“it’s the end of the world as we know it….and I feel fine.”

You may or may not recognize that song title by the group REM But the song seems to be talking about our world today. As I sit here in the office at the church looking at the news, it seems like there is just plain bad stuff everywhere. War rages in the middle east. Gas prices spike again….. shootings and murders and hatred and…..it never seems to end does it? It seems like everything is coming apart. We also have broken relationships and hurting people and……..we seem fine. On the outside it all looks good right? Most people smile and say they are ok and we let it go at that. After all we are busy and we know these people right? There is nothing wrong and we go about our business. When I was working at First Baptist Church of Lubbock with the student ministry we would go to conferences and when I would mention our church, guys would always ask how are you doing in Lubbock?…which really meant how many students we had coming. My standard reply was 500. How did we get that many they asked? Well I would tell them we gave away new cars like the price is right. Funny thing is some guys almost believed it. They were not interested in me but more so how big our group was. We have to get past the surface to make a difference. Most of the time the surface is all we want to look at. We do not really want to know peoples worries and fears and pain. Is the world coming to an end? I have no idea. But I know we need to stop feeling fine. Why don’t we REALLY make a difference? Driving to my mom’s house last week I saw a hitchhiker at a truck stop. He was wearing a sign that said “testing human kindness”. What a great idea. Why don’t we show some kindness today…..just because God calls us to? Give out free water…or make a person some cookies. Mow a yard or wash a car. Get to know the people who live a cross the street and have a block party. Stop feeling fine and do something!



Eric