Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Proverbs 16:24
“Always say a kind word if you can, if only that it may come in, perhaps, with singular opportuneness, entering some mournful man’s darkened room, like a beautiful firefly, whose happy circumvolutions he cannot but watch, forgetting his many troubles.”
Arthur Helps (1813-1875) in Day’s Collacon, compiled and arranged by Edward Parsons Day (New York: IPPO, 1884) 475.
Kind words are little gifts wrapped in letters and filled with goodness. Anyone can share them, regardless of their measure of wealth. They cause people, momentarily, to forget their troubles and experience the love of Christ.
I am becoming convinced of something in this recent exploration of kindness. This is an area in which we can all grow, but only if we attune to how the Spirit wants to extend kindness through us.
Think for a moment about sharing kind words. If you do it this morning, because God’s economy is abundant, you don’t run out of kind words. God can still supply an abundance to share in the afternoon and evening.
There is unkindness all around us. Sometimes (God forgive us) we cause it due to our human sinfulness. What should we do? Let’s resolve to dispense kind words, like fireflies, wherever we go.