When Kindness Is Something You Have to Deliver

A man was known to be a generous man and would give a beggar $1,000 every month. And so the man continued to feed the beggar for many months, the beggar thankful for what the man did. Then one day, the man gave him just $750. The beggar was taken aback, but he finally accepted it, reasoning that $750 was still quite a sum.

One month later, the man gave the beggar only $500. Now the beggar was nearly beside himself with confusion. He approached the man: "You gave me $1,000, then $750, and now only $500. Why the decrease? May I know the reason?"

The man answered after a moment with everyone listening, "Well, at the beginning, all my children were small and I had my steady financial situation, I could give you $1,000. Then my daughter went to college, and tuition was expensive, so I cut it down to $750. Now my second son is in college and the expenses are even more, so I can only give you $500.'

"How many kids do you have?" the beggar asked, still confused.

The man answered, "Four."

The beggar then replied, "So you're educating all of them at my expense?"

The man was quiet for a moment at this. Remembering the words of the beggar, it dawned upon him that he was being inordinate in demanding the kindness of the man without actually knowing of the pain he inflicted by his hands.

The Lesson

When people are kind to us, we get used to them growing accustomed to it. After sometime we forget it, forget about the time and effort takes to create something and start accepting it for granted. He was so concerned about the money, he could not see the man behind the money. What started as a generous gesture has become an expectation.

This story is a reminder for us to learn to appreciate whatever are given, be it little or more, a stranger or one near us. You can't count on kindness, and it's a privilege, not a right. To be generous, one must remember what you have, even when giving back some of your fortune.

In the grand scheme of things, the knowledge that even a gesture as simple as an act of kindness can have a huge impact, and we are blessed if we ever experience one, because they are so easy to take for granted.