Humble & Kind
A song came on the radio. It spoke to me. The message was so clear that I asked my 16-year-old grandson, who is staying with me for three nights, to listen to it with me. “Alexa, play Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind”. Before it started, Brennan told me he had just heard it on the radio too. Double emphasis. Not, that my grandson isn’t humble and kind, but he is a great baseball player, a “looker”, a charmer, and attracts girls like a tick to a bloodhound. Humility is something I pray he holds to when they do. And he exudes kindness to his Nana. He opens the doors for me, sits beside me in church, often puts his arm around me, and he checks on me frequently. So, I’m adding more substance to his strong points.
Some of the phrases in the song go like this:
Hold the door, say “please”, say “thank you”;
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie;
I know you got mountains to climb, but
Always stay humble and kind.
When those dreams you’re dreaming come to you;
When the work you put in is realized;
Let yourself feel the pride, but
Always stay humble and kind.
St. Paul said in Ephesians 4:2 “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” (Ephesians 4:2) In that scripture, Paul shows a community what it looks like to love each other. They love Jesus, but sometimes struggle with loving each other. At times, they’re divided. There is outside opposition and opportunities to be offended. Paul reveals characteristics that will help them through each of these. Sounds to me like they can help us too.
When Lori McKenna wrote “Humble and Kind”and passed it on to Tim, she was a mother of five and wrote for them. She said: “At that point, my oldest was 25 and my youngest was 10. I dropped off the kids at school, and I sat at my dining room table with my coffee and started thinking about all the things that Gene and I wanted to make sure we told the kids. A parent can go on and on forever about what they want their kids to know. I did worry about getting preachy and I stopped myself quickly and remembered I wasn’t writing this for anyone else. I was writing this for myself and for my kids. I sort of thought of it that way. I sent it to Tim, and he brought it to a place I still can’t believe. At that point, I was just saying all the time: “Hold the door” and “Say ‘Thank you’” – I know that sounds so elementary, but there’s so much of that in parenting.”
When I break down the message of the song, “Be humble” stands out. Humility is to be others-centered not “me” centered. We acknowledge our feelings, but also those of the person standing in front of us. We see their dreams, as well as our own. Humility is intentional. It’s viewing the relationship as “we” rather than “I.”
Being kind is intuitive to Christ followers. How can we be less than kind when God serves us up kindness in His willingness to offer us His grace and mercy daily – especially when we don’t deserve it. It’s not just something we give to someone we love, but also to anyone in our sphere of influence. Kindness is a soft place to land as love leads our actions, our tones, and our conversations.
Humility and kindness are forged from laughter, hard work, lots of prayer, patience, acceptance, forgiveness, fresh starts, and sincere apologies. What I hope my grandchildren learn most from me is that the way we live with others’ consciousness isn’t perfect love, but when God is in the midst, we reflect Him — the most loving and kindness-giver of all!