The Song of Kindness

I'm listening to a song right now by The Head and The Heart, and I absolutely adore it.  I can't stop tapping my feet, nodding my head, and adding in harmonies.  Naturally, I'm waiting for my roommate to get out of class so that we can pull out some instruments and try to cover this song together.

That's all well and good, but what does this have to do with kindness?  Well, anyone who plays an instrument will understand.  What do you do when you hear a song that really fits your style?  You look up the chords, or you let your ear study the sounds, and you try to imitate what you hear.  Sometimes you even try to improve the song by adding your own sound to it.  You want to create something similar to what the artists you admire have created. And so it is this way with Christianity.

Jesus was kind.  Jesus loved.  Maybe he wasn't a songwriter, but he wrote the song of kindness, and all I want to do is pick up an instrument and cover those sweet, sweet sounds.


This weekend I was at a retreat for the Junior High at the church where I intern, and one of the Senior High speakers told a story of a man named Tony. From what I remember, Tony was a preacher who had traveled to Honolulu to speak at a conference.  Tony woke up around 3 AM the first morning in Honolulu due to jet lag, and he decided to go ahead and find a place to eat breakfast.  He ended up at a diner in the shadier part of Honolulu and was chatting with the owner/waiter/somekindofemployee at the diner when a group of prostitutes came in for breakfast.  The owner/waiter/employee told Tony that these girls came in every morning after they finished "work" to eat breakfast and unwind.  Tony overheard one of the girls tell the others that it was her birthday the next day, and the others made a sarcastic comment about "did you want us to make you a cake or something" or something like that.  The girl shrugged it off and said she didn't expect it to be like any other birthday, and Tony realized that this girl had never had a birthday party.  Tony turned to the owner/waiter/employee and said "what do you think about throwing this girl a party." And they agreed upon it.

The next day, Tony spent the whole day inviting people to the diner for the party, picking up decorations and cake, and when 4 AM rolled around there were tons of people just waiting to wish this stranger a happy birthday.  The prostitutes walked in to this surprise, and the girl was taken aback.  No one had ever thrown her such a party.  No one had made her a cake.  She even asked if they could not eat the cake just so she could look at it longer.  It appeared to be the best birthday ever.
When the party was over and the crowd had cleared, Tony said he had better get to the conference he was scheduled to speak at.  Remembering that Tony was a preacher, the owner/waiter/employee asked in an awe-struck manner what church he was with.  Tony responded calmly, "I'm from the church of throwing prostitutes birthday parties at 4 AM."


Tony understood that the Church is all about love and kindness.  Jesus befriended the prostitutes, lepers, and tax collectors.  He loved the hated.  He loved everyone.  And that is what this is all about.

He wrote the song of love and kindness, and we are all here to pick up our instruments and cover His song.