No doubt, you, like me, have seen the signs here and there that read “JUST BE KIND”. After encountering my third or fourth one, I decided to investigate the origins of this growing phenomenon. I seem to have discovered those origins at the web page titled “JUST BE KID; IT’S EASY”. According to this site:
A group of kids wanted to raise some money to do “stuff” over the summer of 2015. We felt that making and selling t-shirts would be a good way to earn money and push the very basic, but important message – Just Be Kind! Thus, the Just Be Kind Club was born.
Our motivation has now turned to spreading the kindness message everywhere. We have also recognized the importance of giving back to the community, so we give donations to other organizations that need assistance. Our goal is plain and simple, remind people to be kind. Our belief is that there is more goodness than not.
One thing is certain: this movement is catching on, and doing so quickly! As a Fox59 article in Indianapolis, Indiana details:
It’s a movement that started here in Central Indiana but now is gaining traction all across the world. This story is sure to put a smile on your face.
The “just be kind” group started back in 2015 as an after-school club. But when summertime rolled around, the students wanted to continue giving back. That’s when Andrea Hilton stepped in, to offer her garage, as a place for the kids to make signs, t-shirts, and keychains.
The students began making the items there, and then selling them for a profit, to give back to different area organizations. Since then, the JBK signs and apparel have started appearing all over the county, and even in different parts of the world.,
“We posted one the other day from the Middle East. The woman who sent us the picture, said, ‘I apologize, I can’t give you my exact location, I’m in the Middle East,’ and she’s got her shirt on and her keychain,” explained Hilton.
It’s a message that many agree, we need more than ever these days…
How true. We do indeed need more kindness in our world! And the best way to invite kindness form others is to offer it yourself.
Brian Harbour once told a story illustrating this fact.
He tells about a woman who, a few months after having moved to a small town, complained to a neighbor about the poor service at the local drug store. She hoped the new acquaintance would repeat her complaint to the owner. The next time she was in the drug store, the druggist greeted her with a big smile and told her how glad he was to see her. He provided excellent service.
Later, the woman reported the change in the druggist to her friend. She said, “I suppose you told the druggist how poor I thought the service was, and that’s why he changed?” “No,” the new acquaintance said, “I told him that you were amazed at how he had built up this small town drug store, and that you thought it was one of the best run drugstores you had ever seen!”
Dr. Harbour concludes his story with this reminder: “Her kindness to the druggist begat kindness from the druggist because kindness is contagious!”
Little wonder then that the world’s most famous preacher, Jesus Christ, included this admonition in the world’s most well-known discourse (The Sermon on the Mount): “In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you.”
With this in mind, let us all join in this business of advocating and exemplifying kindness. And in so doing, let us fulfill the admonition of God’ Word (as found in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 32), which tells us to: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
SOURCES:
Just Be Kind Website: https://justbekinditseasy.com/about/.
Article on Spread of the Movement: https://fox59.com/news/just-be-kind-movement-spreading-worldwide/.
SEE ALSO:
Brian Harbour, Brian’s Lines, Volume 8, Number 11, November, 1992, p. 3.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-12.htm; and
https://biblehub.com/ephesians/4-32.htm.
A group of kids wanted to raise some money to do “stuff” over the summer of 2015. We felt that making and selling t-shirts would be a good way to earn money and push the very basic, but important message – Just Be Kind! Thus, the Just Be Kind Club was born.
Our motivation has now turned to spreading the kindness message everywhere. We have also recognized the importance of giving back to the community, so we give donations to other organizations that need assistance. Our goal is plain and simple, remind people to be kind. Our belief is that there is more goodness than not.
One thing is certain: this movement is catching on, and doing so quickly! As a Fox59 article in Indianapolis, Indiana details:
It’s a movement that started here in Central Indiana but now is gaining traction all across the world. This story is sure to put a smile on your face.
The “just be kind” group started back in 2015 as an after-school club. But when summertime rolled around, the students wanted to continue giving back. That’s when Andrea Hilton stepped in, to offer her garage, as a place for the kids to make signs, t-shirts, and keychains.
The students began making the items there, and then selling them for a profit, to give back to different area organizations. Since then, the JBK signs and apparel have started appearing all over the county, and even in different parts of the world.,
“We posted one the other day from the Middle East. The woman who sent us the picture, said, ‘I apologize, I can’t give you my exact location, I’m in the Middle East,’ and she’s got her shirt on and her keychain,” explained Hilton.
It’s a message that many agree, we need more than ever these days…
How true. We do indeed need more kindness in our world! And the best way to invite kindness form others is to offer it yourself.
Brian Harbour once told a story illustrating this fact.
He tells about a woman who, a few months after having moved to a small town, complained to a neighbor about the poor service at the local drug store. She hoped the new acquaintance would repeat her complaint to the owner. The next time she was in the drug store, the druggist greeted her with a big smile and told her how glad he was to see her. He provided excellent service.
Later, the woman reported the change in the druggist to her friend. She said, “I suppose you told the druggist how poor I thought the service was, and that’s why he changed?” “No,” the new acquaintance said, “I told him that you were amazed at how he had built up this small town drug store, and that you thought it was one of the best run drugstores you had ever seen!”
Dr. Harbour concludes his story with this reminder: “Her kindness to the druggist begat kindness from the druggist because kindness is contagious!”
Little wonder then that the world’s most famous preacher, Jesus Christ, included this admonition in the world’s most well-known discourse (The Sermon on the Mount): “In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you.”
With this in mind, let us all join in this business of advocating and exemplifying kindness. And in so doing, let us fulfill the admonition of God’ Word (as found in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 32), which tells us to: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
SOURCES:
Just Be Kind Website: https://justbekinditseasy.com/about/.
Article on Spread of the Movement: https://fox59.com/news/just-be-kind-movement-spreading-worldwide/.
SEE ALSO:
Brian Harbour, Brian’s Lines, Volume 8, Number 11, November, 1992, p. 3.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-12.htm; and
https://biblehub.com/ephesians/4-32.htm.