KINDNESS v ENVY (v NICE) February 7, 2021 LUKE 10:25-37

I’ll try and explain it again: a few years ago (many more than a few years ago actually) I joked that I consider country music an oxymoron (in some ways I believe that’s true), and that I detest country music (that’s a pretty strong word). I said that I really don’t like the genre . . . and from there “the legend grew”. Now if one of the songs we sing has a hint of country to it someone comes up to me with “a look” and a hint of a smile and says “Pastor . . . that sounds country to me!”

I admit . . . country music is not my favourite. But I enjoy some artists that are considered country. Johnny Cash. Jerry Reed. Johnny Horton. Not Merle Hggart (too much twang). I laugh with Bobby Bare. I certainly do not like hearing Achy Breaky Heart!

I like Glen Campbell. I’m not a big Rhinestone Cowboy fan – and when I was at Canadian Nazarene College studying so that I could one day be pastor here at Trinity Church (I didn’t realize it at the time, of course) a friend wrote a parody of the song – called it Rhinestone Preacher.

Glen Campbell sings these words:

If you see your brother standing by the road With a heavy load from the seeds he sowed And if you see your sister falling by the way Just stop and say "you're going the wrong way"

You've got to try a little kindness, yes, show a little kindness Just shine your light for everyone to see And if you try a little kindness then you'll overlook the blindness Of the narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

Don't walk around the down and out, lend a helping hand instead of doubt And the kindness that you show every day will help someone along their way

You've got to try a little kindness, yes, show a little kindness . . . Just shine your light for everyone to see And if you try a little kindness then you'll overlook the blindness Of the narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

Not only will you overlook the blindness of a narrow-minded people, you might just do something to counteract their narrow-mindedness. And not only will you overlook the blindness of a narrow- minded people, you might wake up to or realize your own narrow-mindedness!

We have been looking at what are called the Christian virtues. Humility and liberality and abstinence and patience and kindness and chastity and diligence. The Christian virtues. Against or contrary to the cardinal sins. And it may be a stretch to say that kindness is contrary to envy . . . but then again, maybe it isn’t. Envy is defined as a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck. Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

Envy is about a relationship between self and others. Kindness about relationship with others. Envy is wanting what someone else has. Kindness about sharing what you have – or better, who you are – with others.

It’s important that we realize that they are opposites – contrary, virtue to sin.

It is also important that we realize that there is a difference between kindness and niceness. A lot of people think that they are the same thing. They aren’t. When someone says about another that he wouldn‟t hurt a flea he is talking about being nice, not being kind. And I’m going to suggest something to you that might surprise you: we aren’t supposed to be nice people. We are supposed to be kind people. Christians aren’t supposed to be nice (or at least, only nice); Christians are supposed to be kind.

I know, I know, that doesn’t make sense. So let me try to explain. Niceness is a . . . a nice trait. Nice is a nice way to be. Those of a certain age will recall Maxwell Smart’s overused line all of this could have been avoided, if he had only used his . . . whatever . . . for niceness instead of evil. For niceness. If only we were pleasant and friendly and charming and agreeable and likeable.

Nice is nice. But we aren’t supposed to be nice. We are called to be kind. Read 1 Corinthians 13: love is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not rude, selfless, not easily angered, and ungrudging. “Nice” doesn’t show up on that list. In fact, you won’t find the word “nice” in the Bible! You’ll find instruction and challenge to being kind – Paul says be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (in Ephesians 4:32 and in other places) and the Psalms and the Proverbs mention kindness, but you will not read about being nice in the Bible. Not one time. Kindness? All through the Bible. Niceness? Not once.

By kindness, I’m not talking about when you buy a stranger a cup of coffee or when you bring in your neighbour’s garbage cans or when you tell someone they have food in their teeth. These are nice random acts. But kindness is not a random act (even though we’re encouraged to do random acts of kindness, they are really acts of niceness). As one commentator said, kindness is a radical way of living.

But we tend to focus on the niceness. That’s why people are so often surprised by the negative actions of others. But he was so nice! She was such a nice person! He was courteous. She was pleasant. They were nice . . . nice . . . to be around. And it is sad to discover that they might not be as nice as we think they are. It is sad to discover that even Christians aren’t as nice as they like to portray.

Ask his friends. John Rutledge is nice. A nice person. Whatever that means.

This nice person recently wrote to a black Baptist minister who left his denomination because of its racial stand and . . . well . . . Rutledge tears into the minister and talks about how lucky and grateful Black Americans should feel after everything White people have done for them. Really!

“Yet they remain savages;” Rutledge wrote. “They defile and diminish every arena in which they parade: academic, political, corporate, judicial, military, athletic. Seeking another white bastion to badger and beleaguered, they invaded the church.” That, of course, stopped me right there: the church is a white bastion? Jesus would be rolling in his grave if he had a grave!

“Like two-year-olds, they know only how to whine and throw tantrums,” Rutledge concludes. “The [Southern Baptist Convention] should bid them goodbye and good riddance!” Surprising that he would be so . . . so racist. Or not. But he's a nice person.

You know nice people too. They aren’t perfect . . . who is? Sure they have some quirks and some funny ideas. But they’re nice.

And as nice as we may be, Christians have been some of the worst offenders when it comes to looking at and condemning others. They’ve – we’ve – attached stigma to mental illness for example, often attributing it to a spiritual failing, unconfessed sin, flimsy faith or plain old lack of religious devotion. Just trust God was a mantra for years. Just have faith. No support, no encouragement, no . . . kindness to be found.

In fact, Christians have been some of the worst offenders in not calling out sin in themselves and for over calling out sin in others. But we’re nice. Sort of. But the question is not whether or not we are nice. The question is are we kind? Because that’s the call of God.

Charles LaFond – an Episcopal priest – says that Nice is a veneer, and it distracts and it obscures, and sometimes even leads to untruth. Margaret Marcuson – Pastor Margaret Marcuson – says Christian leaders (herself included), are afflicted with terminal niceness. She says We fudge difficult conversations to make ourselves more comfortable (and others). We’ve bought in to the idea that if you can‟t say anything nice, don‟t say anything at all. Which is a good (notice that I didn’t say nice) policy to follow. It’s true: we should be careful how we talk with people. We should be careful how we treat people. But . . .

I like how Meghan Moravcik Walbert put it: Think of kindness as the act that accompanies (or replaces) your words. It‟s silently helping a struggling mom of three kids unload her groceries into her trunk, rather than smiling and saying, “You‟re doing a great job, mama,” as you breeze past. It‟s bringing a pot of soup to your sick friend, rather than sighing sympathetically and saying you hope they feel better soon. You‟re kind if you shovel your neighbor‟s car out from under a pile of snow, stop to help a stranger change a tire, or pause to give an obviously lost person some directions – even if you‟re not the type of person to bother saying “Bless you,” when someone else sneezes.

You can be nice without being kind. Kindness, as they point out, addresses the need, regardless of tone. [Why You Should Be Kind Instead of Nice]

I think that there have been times when I have been nice. Too nice. I haven’t said what I should have said because I didn’t want to offend someone. I haven’t done what I should have done because I didn’t want to offend someone. I was raised to be nice. There’s actually a term for it: terminal niceness. When we are just so nice that we don’t do what we should do.

And then I look at Jesus. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild. It’s a beautiful picture, isn’t it? Jesus, surrounded by children. A beautiful summer day. Sun shining. A few whispy clouds in the sky. A gentle breeze. Let them come to Me, He said. And they did. Skipping and singing and . . . ahh. Jesus. Nice Jesus.

Yet this same Jesus did not hesitate to say a hard word when necessary to individuals and to groups. It was Jesus who called the Pharisees (the Jewish elite) Whitewashed tombs! Snakes! A brood of vipers! [Matthew 23]. It was Jesus who drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves [Matthew 21:12]. I don’t know about you, but doesn’t seem very “nice” me.

You know who else wouldn’t have been considered a nice person? The Good Samaritan. Because he was a Samaritan. Not because of what he said or what he did, but because of who we was. A Samaritan.

You know the story . . . but let me read it again, from THE MESSAGE:

“There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half- dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.

A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man‟s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, „Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill – I‟ll pay you on my way back.‟

“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”

“The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.

Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

I want to remind you that no matter what he did, the people of Israel wouldn’t have thought that the Samaritan was nice. Or good, of course. After all, the Samaritan was a Samaritan. He had no redeeming qualities. Just because of who he was.

The Priest . . . everyone would have thought him nice. The Levite . . . everyone would have thought him nice. The Samaritan? Not on your life!

Nice. The Priest and the Levite would have been considered nice. But kind . . . would those two be considered kind? They saw a need and they just walked away. No matter how nice they might have been as people they were not kind. You know who was kind? The Good Samaritan.

He saw a need. He acted on the need. Period.

When I think of the story of the Good Samaritan I think of Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King said I imagine that the first question the priest and the Levite asked was: „If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?‟ But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: „If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?‟ The good Samaritan engaged in a dangerous altruism. That’s kindness. That’s a radical lifestyle. That’s what we are called to do – to be – as people of God.

And I’m thinking, this Black History Month, about what John Rutledge wrote, and about what Jesus would say to him. Because Jesus would take him to task. And to his face, not on social media.

And that reminds me of an article I read recently.

It was my senior year of college (wrote Scott Santibanez). My friends and I were enjoying [some time together] when we got into a spirited debate about some social issue. It‟s been nearly 20 years so the topic escapes me but one friend was particularly passionate about it. Eventually, one of us asked, “Well, what are you doing about it?”

After an awkward pause, my friend replied, “You know … that‟s a good point.”

I don’t know what your pet cause is. Maybe – along with changing the world with Jesus (you do want to make a difference in your world with Jesus, don’t you?) – you are concerned about climate change, or world hunger, or human trafficking, or racism. What are you doing about it? Actually doing about it? Liking a cause on Facebook doesn’t do anything. In the midst of his discussion Santibanez asks himself Do I truly care enough to get my hands dirty or do I just like the feeling that I‟ve somehow done my duty because I shared some post? It’s a good question. What’s your answer?

And when it comes to your interactions with other people do you care enough to get your hands dirty and be kind or do you just like the feeling that you’ve done your duty because you were nice to someone. I can be nice to someone. I can smile at someone even if I am envious of what they are or who they are.

The world is full of nice people. Polite people. Friendly people. Kind people are more rare. We – you and I – are called be more than nice. We are called to be kind. In fact Dr. Barry Corey, the president of Biola University, says that Kindness is not a duty or an act. It‟s an imperative. It‟s the natural outcome of the Holy Spirit‟s presence in our lives.

So as you live your life don’t just be nice. And don’t just do random acts of kindness. Be kind.