Kindness: Overcoming Selfishness Series

Did you see the recent news article about the cabbie that found $187,000 in cash? Yes, a Boston taxi cab driver dropped off a homeless man at a hotel. The homeless man had just finished living in a homeless shelter for the past six months when he inherited the incredible sum of money. Yes, you heard me correctly – a homeless man inherited nearly $200,000. It was then that Raymond, a 72-year-old taxi cab driver with more than 50 years of experience on the job, noticed a forgotten bag. Opening it up to find a name, he found stacks of $50 and $100 bills inside. He worried the man might be dangerous, so he decided to bring the cash to a local police station. Only the money was not ill-gotten. Instead, the money was from a homeless man’s that he accidentally forgot in the cab. After the homeless money located his money, he offered the cab driver $100 for his honesty. But then this cab driver offered a salient comment for our day, he felt the man should have given him more money as a reward. Yes, the cab driver felt he should have received even more. After all, his $100 reward was the equivalent to less than half a penny on the dollar when you consider the large sum of money. Would you bookmark this story for a few moments, and we’ll return to it.

Today, I want to talk to you about how you can develop kindness. Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.” Many think it only take willpower to be kind. No, it takes supernatural power to be kind. You need supernatural power to overcome the rude and insensitive feelings welling up inside of you.

We’re in a summer sermon series devoted to bringing the change into our lives that we’ve always longed for. These nine virtues are the real signs the Spirit is in and with you. It’s a series devoted to advocating living life with the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Kindness stands in the middle of this ancient list of nine virtues.

Today, I want to motivate you to be kind. Kindness is a display of love … it’s really a demonstration of love. Today, I want to you to see kindness through the window in the life of King David. This is one of the most moving and beautiful stories in all of the Old Testament.

Today’s Scripture Passage

And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”

Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. (2 Samuel 9:1-13)