A Wonderful Pair

“What is desired in a man is kindness,

and a poor man is better than a liar.” —Proverbs 19:22

An honest and kind man drove the streets of San Francisco for more than an hour to find the woman who had left her purse with $1,792 in cash on the back seat of his cab. I like what he said when some of his fellow drivers ridiculed him for not pocketing the money. He said, "I am a card-carrying member of the Christian faith, and what good is it to go to church if you don't practice what you preach?"

In Exodus 23, the principles of honesty and kindness were brought together for the Israelites in the laws God gave them. They were to be honest enough to return a straying animal to its owner, even if that person were an enemy (v.4). They were to be kind enough to a foe to help him get a stubborn donkey to its feet (v.5). They were to be so concerned about making sure that a poor person got fair treatment that they would help him, even when it was a costly thing to do (vv.6-9). Landowners were to let their farm lie idle every seventh year and allow the poor to glean freely from it (vv.10-11).

Honest people can be cruel. Kind people may be soft and not concerned enough about righteousness. But when you put honesty and kindness together, you have a wonderful pair that honors God and blesses others. —Herb Vander Lugt

When others view our lives today, Our honesty is on display;
Lord, help us point the way to You by doing what is kind and true.

From “Our Daily Bread,” copyright 2006 by RBC Ministries,

Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission.

You must be true yourself if you the truth would teach;

The soul must overflow if you another’s soul would reach;

It needs the overflow of heart to give the lips full speech.

Think truly, and your thought shall the world’s famine feed;

Speak truly, and each word of yours shall be a fruitful seed;

Live truly, and your life shall be a great and noble creed.