How High?

She instructed her servants to go ahead of her that she would follow behind them.

When she saw David she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before him. She explained her husband; Nabal was just like his name meant: Fool. She humbly asked David’s forgiveness of her husband’s rudeness and his acceptance of her food gifts.

David graciously accepted her gifts and apology, sending her home in peace. Upon arriving home, Abigail found her husband having a banquet as if he were a king. Wisely she waited until morning when he was sober to tell him about what had happened with David and his men. Nabal fell ill and ten days later died of a heart attack.

When David heard Nabal was dead, he wasted little time asking Abigail to marry him.

(Story based on 1 Samuel 25:4-29)

How Can We Help Others?

Many people think it is necessary to have wealth in order to help another person. Sharing one’s wealth is good, but many do not have this option. Yet we all have the ability to help someone nearly every day.

Here are some ways which don’t cost a cent:

* Lend a hand. Can you give someone a ride that doesn’t have transportation? Can you help someone with a garden or yard task, repair their car, or offer advice on some computer problem? These are just a few examples.

* Speak words of encouragement. Even a smile is encouraging, or the wave of your hand.

But to tell someone, they did a great job, look especially nice, or that you appreciate them, goes a long way to bolster one’s spirit.

* Do an act of kindness. I had a fifth grade boy in the writing club I once sponsored. He asked me what it meant to have good manners. I was surprise as this lad was exceptionally polite. I answered him, “Just doing the kindest act possible at the moment it is needed“. He smiled and continued to open doors for his teacher, let the girls in his class precede him into the room, and offered to help me carry my teaching materials to the car.

He also wrote a poem about how badly he hated “manners” which was hysterically funny.

Then resumed being the perfect little gentleman he had always been. Acts of kindness are daily opportunities to be polite and courteous to one another.

* Let others know you believe in them. Sometimes this is the hardest thing to do, on a frequent basis. But you can make a huge difference in someone’s life if you are determined to seek this opportunity out.

Where Do We Start?

The best place to start is right within our homes. Encourage your children, spouse and anyone sharing your home. Next take it to work with you. Be attentive to ways you can do a kind act, speak an encouraging word, or lend a hand with some task. By now you should be ready to let it bubble over into your neighborhood and community.

A number of years ago, a middle-aged man applied for a salesman position in the home furnishing department of a mid-sized department store where I worked as a floor supervisor. I happen to over hear part of the interview, and learned this man was down on his luck, he desperately needed a job.

For some reason, the manager hired, Joe, who had no previously experience in selling. Right from the first day, Joe did something no other salesperson did; he smiled, he greeted everyone with a few cheerful words. As he continued to work for the store, he received the nickname, Smiling Joe. And Smiling Joe was always quick to help me with heavy boxes of merchandise when he did not have a customer to assist. He often told me about his small home he rented and how he desired a larger home for his wife and three children.

Within a year, Joe moved into a four bedroom home at the end of the street I lived on. He spread his smile, cheerful greetings, and willingness to lend a hand to everyone on the street. He also was awarded the most successful salesman of the year by the company.

There is an old saying, “he who is a servant is closest to God’s heart“. Need I encourage you further to “put on a happy face, and spread sunshine all over the place?”