{"id":2612,"date":"2012-04-26T17:53:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-26T21:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2612"},"modified":"2012-04-26T17:53:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-26T21:53:00","slug":"kindness-gone-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/kindness-gone-bad.html","title":{"rendered":"Kindness gone bad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Aren\u2019t we all walking a strict tight rope regarding kindness. \u00a0At some tipping point, kindness can be abused and we find our greatest tender mercies have gone bad. \u00a0Today, I took a member out to supper. \u00a0Bob was a member of the Special Gathering Melbourne program for more years than I\u2019ve been involved. \u00a0Our members are intellectually disabled. \u00a0In the 22 years I\u2019ve known him, he missed Special Gathering no more than five times. \u00a0When he was forced to move to another town almost 40 miles from my home, he has called often asking for me to take him out to eat.<\/p>\n

This was our third time to go out for a meal since he moved almost a year ago. He has been plugged into a closer Special Gathering. Bob participates in the choir at his new program. \u00a0When is enough, enough? \u00a0Bob is beyond stingy and he would never offer to pay for his own meal. High-functioning, Bob is not beyond taking advantage of a situation.<\/p>\n

Therein lies my question. \u00a0When is it worst for a person for us to continue to give? \u00a0Last night as I was listening to the Psalms, the Lord said that His people were constantly taking advantage of Him. \u00a0Then after He punished them, Israel would turn back to him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As I drove to the Adult Living Facility where Bob is now living, I had at least an hour to mull over his situation. \u00a0Was it now time to let Bob know that I would not be making any more trips to his new home? \u00a0 After all, he loves the people with whom he lives. \u00a0He is happy enough with his new life that he wants to go to the sheltered workshop only two days a week.<\/p>\n

We had our meal at MacDonald\u2019s. \u00a0As we were heading home, I told him that we would not be able to do this again because it\u2019s too far from my home. \u00a0It takes a long time and uses a lot of gas. \u00a0Bob looked at me with one of the most whimsical stares I\u2019ve ever seen. \u00a0\u201dHave you moved?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Bob,\u201d I continued to explain. \u00a0\u201dI haven\u2019t moved. \u00a0You moved. \u00a0Now you live farther from my house and office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps, my good friend, Bob, still may need another visit or two. \u00a0It\u2019s apparent that kindness has not gone bad yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aren\u2019t we all walking a strict tight rope regarding kindness. \u00a0At some tipping point, kindness can be abused and we find our greatest tender mercies have gone bad. \u00a0Today, I took a member out to supper. \u00a0Bob was a member of the Special Gathering Melbourne program for more years than I\u2019ve been involved. \u00a0Our members…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3,40,186,49,16,8,12,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,7,699,715,701,694,709,700],"class_list":["post-2612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-religion","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-leadership","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nKindness gone bad - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/kindness-gone-bad.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kindness gone bad - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Aren\u2019t we all walking a strict tight rope regarding kindness. \u00a0At some tipping point, kindness can be abused and we find our greatest tender mercies have gone bad. \u00a0Today, I took a member out to supper. \u00a0Bob was a member of the Special Gathering Melbourne program for more years than I\u2019ve been involved. \u00a0Our members…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/kindness-gone-bad.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-26T21:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/04\/brevard-county_map.gif?w=214&h=221\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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