My brother, Bruce, and I were invited to a BBQ lunch over in Reynolds today, the town of our growing up. The host was Ray Tincken, the owner of Ray’s Body Shop. Actually, his son, Tobey, runs the place now, as Ray is like me–too old to run anything very far. This father-son duo has been very successful. The “bodies” they work on are not the kind I used to work on, nor are the the kind that Playboy shows off; they are cars and trucks that have been damaged by various altercations with other objects of substance. Ray and Tobey are the best in the business. Their body shop is cleaner than most folk’s kitchen, and they can make a total wreck look better than new! For some reason they are very kind to both Bruce and me. Bruce and I love both of them. It is not very hard to love someone who is always kind to you. I really like being around kind people. Kindness is contagious. I couldn’t help but notice that today, as I mingled with the folk of Reynolds. Paul said that kindness is a fruit of the Spirit, which means that it is not something we muster, but something that the Holy Spirit produces in God’s children. In other words, kindness and self-centeredness cannot coexist, i.e. one never boasts about being kind.

On my way home today, I had to stop at Home Depot and Sams and Bath & Body Works (from what I could see, these are the kinds of bodies that Playboy shows off!) to pick up a couple of things. I couldn’t help but notice that I was not the only one running a little late with this shopping thing. People were shopping like they had money to burn and the store was about to run out of whatever they wanted. One thing stood out to me: most people were not practicing kindness.

Since God obviously knows it is Christmas, I suggested to Him that it would be nice if He would allow the Holy Spirit to stir a bit more kindness in the lives of His children. If He doesn’t, I am afraid Jesus might call off the celebration for next year. The truth is, based upon what I saw today, in and around the malls in Macon, most have a strange notion of what that celebration is about, anyway.

Maybe everyone needs to stop and take a few deep breaths, and then pause to remember The Reason for the season. Somehow, I have the strong feeling that Ray  and Tobey have already done that.

Some important person once said, “Be kind to one another.”