Kindness is the language which the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

African Proverb

“Got milk?” is a catchy phrase from the popular “Got Milk?” campaign from the 1990s¹. It’s a straightforward question that suggests that if you don’t have milk, something must be wrong with you. The campaign showcased A-list celebrities sporting milk mustaches as proof of their milk consumption, along with the famous slogan. In the same spirit, I ask you, the reader, “Got kindness?”

Being kind is often associated with random acts of kindness and gestures that people do as a form of respect or generosity. Acts of kindness can be as simple as opening the door for someone carrying groceries, letting someone go ahead of you in line, buying coffee and donuts for the staff, making a check-in phone call, cooking dinner for someone after a long day, or helping someone in need. These are just a few acts of kindness that we may see from time to time.

Can you recall a time when someone did something kind for you? How did it make you feel? I remember an act of kindness someone showed me after a meeting I presided over as a volunteer leader. After the meeting, there was a lot to clean up, but it was rare that anyone stayed to help. However, during my last meeting, one of the new volunteers said, “I will stay and help you clean up.” I said, “Thank you.” But what she said after that really touched me because you never know who’s watching. She said, “I know you say others will help, but it always ends up being on you.” At that moment, I felt seen. Leaders are often expected to do everything, be present in all situations, and cater to the needs of everyone, yet seldom do they receive support in return. That was a spotlight moment for me because somebody noticed what was going on and decided to show kindness towards me. Kindness is a reminder that you are always on God’s mind, seen through the actions of others. These are small but powerful acts of kindness.

When an act of kindness is shown towards you, it holds considerable power. You can see its effects immediately. It brings a shift to your countenance, a break in the monotony of the day, a moment of relief from the harshness of life, and a renewed hope in the existence of beautiful souls. It’s a moment where the spotlight is on you. It’s a moment where you feel seen and noticed, which has both a physical and spiritual impact on you.

From a scientific standpoint, it’s fascinating to note that kindness has a tangible impact on our bodies. Engaging in or receiving a random act of kindness triggers an increase in the levels of serotonin and dopamine, the “feel-good” chemicals in our bodies². This suggests that our bodies react positively to acts of kindness and negatively to acts of cruelty. It’s truly remarkable how our bodies can discern the difference and respond accordingly. Kindness does a body good.

The Hebrew term for kindness, which is ḥeseḏ, encompasses a multitude of meanings, including love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, and compassion. When you extend kindness to others, you are not just responding to their needs, but you are also driven to alleviate their burdens and make their journey a little easier. Kindness is a selfless act of placing others before yourself, a virtue that cannot coexist with pride.

We need a REVOLUTION of kindness in our world today. Right now, we have a revolution of unrestrained hate that has become a global cancer in this nation, and its impact on our society is deeply troubling. Hate is an intense, emotional force that has been widely televised. We have witnessed the result of hate festering in the hearts of individuals to the extent that they have tried to physically undermine democratic processes. Not only that, we have seen hate for one another in the taking of innocent lives, not just abroad but also in our local communities. Hate creates blinders that prevent us from seeing someone’s humanity. We have seen hate in all its forms, all of which have been televised.

Kindness, when it goes beyond simple acts and contributes to the well-being of others, can have a revolutionary impact. Revolutionary kindness is the conscious choice to be kind, even to those who may not reciprocate it, even in the face of opposition. Imagine offering a smile to a stranger on a gloomy day or lending a helping hand to someone in need, regardless of their response. That is the essence of revolutionary kindness, a force that can change the trajectory of people’s lives.

A biblical example of revolutionary kindness is God’s unwavering benevolence towards the children of Israel in the wilderness. For forty years, God sustained, protected, and fed them. He even performed miracles, such as parting the Red Sea to help them escape Pharaoh’s control and guiding them through the wilderness. There was none feeble among them, and their feet did not swell. Even after God had done so many things for them, the children of Israel complained. They even erected a golden calf and attributed their deliverance to the calf instead of God. After all that, most of us would have just left them in the wilderness to fend for themselves—them and the calf! However, the Scripture says that God is ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and did not forsake them (Nehemiah 9:17 KJV)³. Despite their complaints and even the creation of a golden calf, God’s revolutionary kindness prevailed, serving as a testament to the depth of His love and mercy.

The power of revolutionary kindness can change lives for generations. Kindness is closely connected to how we see others. If we don’t see someone’s humanity, we can’t be kind to them. Our behavior toward others is based on how we see them. Kindness can be shown in various ways, such as donating a life-saving organ, paying for someone’s meal or groceries, or reaching out with a phone call to check in on someone. These acts have the power to set off a ripple effect of positivity and create meaningful change. A single act of revolutionary kindness can significantly impact someone’s life, potentially pulling them back from the brink of despair.

Let’s flood our airwaves and populate every social media site with intentional acts of kindness. I challenge you to use your camera to capture acts of kindness and share them online. Imagine a world where social media algorithms consistently highlight good deeds. It would transform the atmosphere. Better yet, we can establish our own “rhythm” of consciously choosing to perform acts of kindness for others, even if it goes unnoticed. We’ve witnessed too many random acts of violence and not enough acts of kindness. We’ve seen too many reruns of Cain and Abel-like stories on the news.

Let’s change the narrative by bringing an equilibrium to the airwaves of social media and our everyday lives. We are responsible for initiating a revolution of kindness to heal and unite our global community. Let us strive to ensure that kindness is no longer simply a random occurrence but rather a deliberate and revolutionary force that shapes the world for the better. This revolution of kindness will be televised.