Do small acts of kindness
From today’s Scripture: “Choose life then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.” (Deut: 30 19-20)
A choice between life or death seems obvious: “I choose life.” Yet reality shows that it may not be. In the pandemic time suicides, divorces, and addictions have all increased. Many people know the harm of smoking, drinking, and overeating, but they still do so. People know that infidelity, even pornography, can kill a marriage, but they do so. Despair, loneliness, and anger lead to choosing a moment of solace in sinful pleasure, yet be the cause of a slow death.
One way to overcome deadly impulses is in choosing to do small acts of kindness. By bringing a small joy to a stranger, friend, or family member we not only change their day, we change ours. Next time you are in line waiting for check out, buy a candy bar and give it to the clerk as a present. See if it makes a difference for you and the clerk? We can choose life one small act at a time.
Let us pray: “O Creator of all living things, may I resist the temptations of deadly pleasures that give moments of joy followed by endless guilt. May I truly choose life by smiling more, saying a kind word more, or doing small gestures of goodness more. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me more every day.”
Today’s author, Glenmary Father Steve Pawelk, is codirector of Glenmary’s novitiate program.
Photo courtesy of Martin Jernberg
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