Robbie McDonough
Ephesians 4:31-32 (NRSV)

31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Reflection: 

When I was a teenager, VHS tapes were hanging on for dear life as a new medium was taking over the movie rental business, the digital video disk (DVD). And while I did not work at Blockbuster, the Mecca of movie rental, I was thrilled when my grocery clerk career skyrocketed, and I was transferred to the video rental department (back in my day grocery stores had video departments not just automated red boxes) where you could rent a movie while picking up bananas and deodorant.

DVDs had a significant tactical advantage over VHS tapes; when the movie was finished, movie watchers didn’t need to spend three minutes rewinding their DVDs. This simple advantage (along with a few others like picture and sound quality) seemed to make VHS tapes disappear overnight. Movie renters were apparently very busy in the 80s and 90s. They simply couldn’t find the time to rewind their VHS tapes. This drove video department clerks absolutely bonkers. And then Blockbuster, realizing its clerks were spending entirely too much time rewinding returned tapes, launched a campaign to end the madness. It was simple: Be Kind, Rewind.

The catchiness of the campaign was an overnight success, people across the spectrum recognized and recited the phrase with ease. Other video departments (like Albertsons) were jumping on the bandwagon, hoping to escape the monotony of rewinding tape after tape. I imagine a marketing team somewhere was popping corks and high-fiving within weeks after the campaign was launched. But as I knew too well, while every customer knew the campaign, few changed their behavior. In an anecdotal case study of one video clerk, the campaign had no effect.

It’s easy to overlook the kindnesses we can do for each other when we are so consumed with the busyness of our daily lives. We get caught up with our personal priorities and overlook the moments where we can lift each other up.

I’ve noticed that two things impact how kind I am:

1)  When someone is kind to me, I am much more likely to be kind – to them and to others. Kindness is infectious. This is good and fruit of the Spirit stuff but by no means groundbreaking.

2)  When I slow down and take notice of the world around me (and less notice of myself) my kindness factor seems to go up. Now, this I find interesting.

If we slow down, we are more likely to be kind to one another. We take notice of God’s blessing and our gratitude and the places in this world that await our kindness. And what’s more, kindness has a ripple effect. It spreads. It goes viral. Wouldn’t it be great to put the pandemic in a totally different light?

Take a moment today, slow down, and reflect; and then find a corner of the world that could use your kindness. Who knows what you could start.

Prayer:

Father God, you have been so kind to me. Help me slow down. Help me see your blessings. Help me be grateful. I give thanks that I am made in your image. Help me reflect your kindness today. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.