Recently while I was feeling under the weather Laura drove through Chick-Fi-A to grab us a bite to eat. (Is there anything that Chick-Fil-A cannot cure?)
When she drove up to the window after placing her order the cashier said, “Your meal was paid for by the person in front of you!” Laura said, “Well that was very kind. I’ll pay for the meal of the person behind me.” The cashier said, “You make the seventh person in a row to buy the meal of the next person in line!”
That seems to me like the definition of paying it forward. We have no idea how many cars after Laura did the same thing. What we do know is the when you bless someone’s life it can become contagious.
On another occasion recently we were eating at Chili’s with a friend of ours who was visiting from out of town. We saw a family from church and went over to their table to visit for a minute. They were delightful.
When we were ready to leave after our meal the waiter said, “That family sitting across from you paid for your meal!” We were overwhelmed with gratitude.
It really isn’t about money and free meals, but it is about blessing the lives of others. Think for a minute about all that is accomplished when we bless someone’s life.
When we bless others we are following the example of Christ. It was said of our Lord, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
Everywhere Jesus went He was in the blessing business. He blessed the lives of the rich & the poor, of the big & the small, of the educated & uneducated. Jesus blessed the lives of everyone he met.
When we bless others we bring joy to their lives. Random acts of kindness will bring great joy to those who receive the blessing. Try it a try. Send a note of encouragement, buy someone a meal, make a visit or a phone call.
What you will quickly find is that it doesn’t just bring joy to the life of the recipient of the blessing, it also brings great joy to the giver. No wonder Jesus said, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
When we bless others we are storing up treasures in Heaven. When we bless the lives of others we are fulfilling the great admonition of Jesus to store for ourselves treasures in Heaven. (Matthew 6:19-20)
When we bless others we cause others to want to be a blessing. As we said in the beginning of this article, being a blessing to others can be contagious. Someone had to pay the first person’s meal in that line at Chick-Fil-A.
Once that first person stepped out and performed an act of blessing it started a chain reaction that went on for who knows how long. When you bless someone’s life you might just be the one who turns a life around and causes others to be a blessing.
When we bless others we share the Image of Christ. By blessing the lives of others we show them Jesus. It is our duty to strive to develop the mind of Christ. (Philippians 2:5) We have been called to let our lights shine before men so that they might glorify God. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Our world is filled with people who take from others, people who perform acts of injustice, people who are cruel, unkind, and uncaring. What our worlds desperately needs is to see people who will bless lives, people who will be more like Jesus.
Dear Father, help us to do everything we possibly can to bless the lives of everyone around us. Help us to show Jesus to the people we meet today. Help us, dear God to bless others through our actions as well as our attitudes. In the Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
The same thing happened to us the other night. We were eating at a restaurant when we were seated by one of my wife’s former piano students. He was not one dedicated to practice, but his mother (who also taught private piano) thought he would be more responsive to someone teaching him other than her. He had some behavioral issues, amd his mother felt he came away from lessons with my wife with a more positive attitude and a sense of accomplishment. Anyway, as the ticket was delivered to our table I put my credit card on top of it, this former student got up, grabbed the ticket and disappeared into the crowd. He had texted his mother that we were there, and they decided THEY were going to pay for our dinner, not us. It was a nice gesture, and much appreciated—-I just wish I’d ordered something more expensive! ;^)
I received a blessing from you today when I saw your smiling face at the hospital. Your words of comfort were deeply appreciated by myself and my wife. Your prayer for her sergery was another unexpected blessing, thank you for caring and making the special effort be here. In Him
Gary & Mary
How true the examples of sharing and caring are in the world today. Christ is seen in our behaviour, actions, words spoken, and by every action in our lives. His blessings can be seen in our families, friends, strangers, in the method we handle difficulties and how we handle each of His wonderful blessings – the air we breathe, the food we eat, in our clothing, shelter and most of all by our prayer lives. What we think we become – out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh – someone greater than I said those words. Thank God for all the blessings. Have a safe and blessed day. “Happy Moments are Golden- Cherish them.”
I heard a comment today that a homeless person in Kansas City had a woman give him some change. He later discovered that she had dropped her engagement ring in the cup. The homeless person waited until he saw her again and gave the ring back to her. The lady offered a cash reward to him but he said no that he had done the right thing. This act of kindess from the homeless and poor is a great example of how Jesus is there for all walks of live.
Have a blessed day and Happy Valentimes!
Linda
Thanks for the great and encouraging read Jeff. Just shared this post at the end of my latest blog post because it tied in so well. Keep up the great work!
For what it’s worth, a couple of days ago (which was a couple of weeks after our dinner was comp’d) I was in a local quick shop. The K-State student in front of me had a $1.49 cappuccino and gave the cashier her credit card. She was informed that there must be a $3.00 or more charge to use the card, so she went rifling through her purse to find $1.49 to pay for her coffee. She looked over and over, but she didn’t have the cash. She apologized to me and said that she would go find something else to buy to bring the total over $3.00. I told her to stop—that I’d be happy to buy her morning coffee. She asked if I was sure and I said of course. She thanked me and left the building. I paid for her drink and my diet cola, and the store manager at the cash register smiled at me and said I had good karma coming my way. I simply responded that I’m happy to do something kind, confident it will come back my way. Good karma, I suppose.