Lawrence G. Lovasik - The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls Who Dare to Transform the World

The standard for the love of God is giving all. It reaches into the very depths of the powers of your soul. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.

The standard for the love of neighbor is love of self. Love your neighbor as yourself.

You may have problems with the two short words as yourself, words too often overlooked. You should love others in the same measure as you love yourselfas if your neighbor were your very self. Such love is naturally kind.

When you are kind, you put others in the place of yourself. Self-love becomes unselfishness.

Kindness in God is the act of creation and the constant preservation of the world in existence. From divine kindness flow, as from a fountain, the powers and the blessings of all created kindness.

Kindness also means coming to the rescue of others when they need help, if it is in our power to supply it. This, too, is the work of the attributes of God toward His creatures. His omnipotence is for-ever making up our deficiency of power. His justice is continually correcting our erroneous judgments. His mercy is always consoling our fellow creatures under our unkindnesses. His perfections are unceasingly coming to the rescue of our imperfections. This is Divine Providence.

Kindness is our imitation of Divine Providence. Kindness, to be perfect and lasting, must be a conscious imitation of God. If you are earnestly conforming yourself to the image of Jesus Christ, sharpness, bitterness, and sarcasm disappear. The very attempt to be like Jesus is already a source of sweetness within you, flowing with an easy grace over all who come within your reach.

Not only is kindness due to everyone, but a special kindness is due to everyone. Kindness is not kindness unless it is special. Its charm consists in its fitness, its timeliness, and its individual application.

Kindness adds sweetness to everything. It makes life s capabilities blossom and fills them with fragrance. Kindness is like divine grace. It bestows on men something that neither self nor nature can give them. What it gives them is something of which they are in need, or something which only another person can give, such as consolation. Besides, the manner in which this is given is a true gift itself, better far than the thing given.

The secret impulse out of which kindness acts is an instinct that is the noblest part of yourself. It is the most undoubted remnant of the image of God, given to us at the beginning. Kindness springs from the soul of man; it is the nobility of man a divine rather than a human being.

Kindness anticipates others needs and wishes

Obligingness urges you to carry out a wish or satisfy need before a request is made. You will not wait for your neighbor to express a wish; you detect his need and kindly gratify his unspoken request.

When you comply with the spoken request of your neighbor, you may do so either because you do not wish to appear unkind, or because you feel unable to resist the persuasion of another, or because in this way you hope to rid yourself sooner of a troublesome person. But when you are truly obliging, love prompts gracious thoughts, tells you of your neighbors wish, and urges you to comply with it. Here love alone pleads and complies with the wish. Hence, obligingness is an act of charity even more beautiful than a simple readiness to serve another.

Obligingness prevents you from becoming careless in charity, because it arouses charity to action. It is a constant striving to do good on your own initiative. Even though you comply more or less unwillingly with a request, the danger remains of your falling back into a spiritual carelessness.

Obligingness is an attractive form of charity. It has something divine about it. Most of Gods gifts come to us without our asking for them. Long before weak man existed, God planned to call him to share in His everlasting bliss. Long before we could lift our hearts to pray, He created, redeemed, and sanctified us. St. John says, In this the love of God was made manifest in us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Obligingness is a richer joy-giver than mere willingness to render service. A gift which is the result of a formal request nearly always loses something of its full value and, as a consequence, something of its power to give pleasure; whereas, anything done out of obliging love keeps undiminished its ability to make people happy. When a pure motive of charity inspires a gift, it never fails to produce much joy and bestow on the giver a rich blessing. The purer your love, the richer its natural and supernatural blessings. The more you give, the more you receive.