80-Day Kindness Challenge Pledge and Prayer
80-Day Kindness Challenge Pledge and Prayer:
To the God who shows us how that which leaves our mouth makes us clean or unclean, let only your love and compassion flow from me.
When I am frustrated, bring me calm
When I am hurt, do not let me harm another
When I hear hateful speech, let me come to the defense of the wronged person using your language of love and teaching instead of hurling more vileness in the air.
Bring me awareness of my impact on others that I may learn my blindspots.
Teach me, O God, your Kindness, which is loving awareness
Teach me, O God, your Compassion, which is empathy
Teach me, O God, your Justice, which is uplifting of the oppressed
Teach me, O God, your Civility, which allows for disagreement with respect and without rancor.
Your way, God, is never easy, but it is right. Let me be an ambassador of your kin-dom where we know how we are connected one to another, all part of your family.
This is my pledge: that I may showcase your lovingkindness, that I embody your compassion, that I engage with civility when disagreements abound, and that I act with your justice, supporting your people who need to know they are not alone. When I falter, O Mercy, sent the Canaanite Woman to me in the guise I need to see most, that I may be cleansed of my error and return to my pledge. Amen
In my sermon on Sunday, I proposed an 80-Day Kindness Challenge; the above text is the pledge I made as part of that challenge. I invite you to participate along with me. It is simple. Use the pledge as a prayerful launching point to help you focus, but remember that each journey is different. I am on day 5 of focusing on what can I do to uplift kindness and goodness, remove energy from destructive engagements, but pour energy into matters and ideas that make the world a more forgiving, understanding, and loving place to be. The beauty of this challenge is you may start it whenever you wish, keep track of the 80 days on a calendar or in a journal. Bracket your day with this, or another similarly worded pledge and prayer that keeps mindfulness of kindness in the forefront of your mind. I know you will be amazed at the difference this little framing makes to your days.
Have you ever been subjected to the phrase, "Kill them with Kindness?" I have often heard that phrase given as advice for dealing with someone we might personally find difficult. It can weaponize kindness, though, and turn it into something cruel and motivated by hate. This is not the method of kindness I choose.
I suppose that sometimes kindness is associated with weakness, or niceness, when in fact kindness is incredibly strong. True kindness, that seeks out the very best of another person, and emphasizes helping that person live the most fulfilling life possible, even in difficult circumstances, that kindness is fueled by love, which the poets and prophets all say is stronger than hate. This is the kindness that I choose.
This kindness calls out injustice, it cannot ignore the pain of oppression. This kindness does not stand for bullying or false stories, it corrects narratives that go awry from slanderous sources. This kindness knows that it will not always be accepted, so it stands a shield to protect those who are under attack by institutional systems of authoritarian control. This kindness works for justice for God's people - the poor and oppressed. This kindness recognizes when it lives within the heart of someone who has the advantages of few or no barriers to living a full life, and this kindness inspires individuals to use every advantage to uplift someone who needs encouragement, a boost, or someone to clear part of a path. This kindness brings life. "Kill with Kindness?" I pray that hate and slander and false witness be transformed by the example of kindness to understanding and patience and truth.
I love you all
Stay Safe and Healthy
Wash Your Hands
Peace be with you
~Rev. Andrea Joy Holroyd
