Good Fruit

He had a full cart of groceries.
He was second in line.
The groceries of the woman who was first in line were still being scanned.
I noticed that the man in front of me was reading something on his phone.

Well, how about that? He said looking at me.
This government agency just had a steak and lobster dinner costing _____!
He did not seem too happy.
I wonder how many homeless people they invited? I asked.

You got that right! He said emphatically.
Everything is so twisted, He commented.
He had much to say about the way government runs things.
It’s just so inefficient, he added.

There has to be a better way, I added.
Communities know what their people need.
Churches used to be where those needs were met.
If we just went back to people helping each other and left the government out of it, I said.

I usually do not talk about government in the grocery store.
I usually do not share my opinion with a stranger unless asked.
Somehow, I sensed a kindred spirit.
Somehow, I sensed a person who cared about similar things.

He was a man and I was a woman.
He was black and I was white.
We were both buying groceries.
We both cared about making things better.

Why can’t we just get along? I asked rhetorically.
Agreed! He said.
The media doesn’t help; they pit one side against the other, he continued.
It’s so divisive; it’s like pouring gasoline on a fire.

The irony of our conversation was not lost on either of us.
We are exactly the people who should be enemies.
We are not supposed to get along.
We are supposed to feel misunderstood.

At least in the grocery line, on this day, we proved them wrong.
We had more things in common than we had differences.
We saw similar solutions to problems.
We cared about focusing on what can be accomplished when we work together.

I buy groceries for people, he began to tell me.
From the look of his shopping cart, this was quite an order.
I buy their groceries and I take it to them, when they can’t get out themselves.
The other day, I saw an old man trying to carry quite a few bags, he continued.

I ran up to him and offered to help him.
He looked so surprised that I would offer to do that for him.
I held the door for him and carried the bags to his car.
He thanked me for helping him, he said as if he was remembering their conversation.

It only took two seconds, but it made his day, the man in front of me said.
We need to do more of that, he commented.
I’m not patting myself on the back; it’s just not that hard to be kind.
There it was; the topic of our conversation together.

It’s just not that hard to be kind.
How right he was.
Did you ever watch children play next to each other? I asked him.
They don’t care if the other child is black, white, or polka dotted, they just want to play.

He laughed.
Isn’t that the truth? He said.
If children can do it, so can we, I said.
Amen! He said with emphasis.

His groceries were moving up the belt to be scanned.
He bagged his own groceries, or the groceries he was buying for someone else.
I looked at the two of us, so different on the outside, so alike on the inside.
Why can’t we just get along?

Why do we allow the media to tell us what we should think?
We are smart people with minds made by God.
God gives us discernment through His Spirit.
We do not need more gasoline on the social fires that are before us.

If you picked two people out of the grocery store that day, you would not have chosen us.
People bring their own prejudices and presuppositions to the table.
Racism is running rampant, the media tells us over and over.
Not in the grocery store; not on this day.

Not in many of our towns.
Not in many of our churches.
If we see divisiveness, we do something about it.
In our little corner of the world, we do what we can to promote kindness.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22,23)

I am sure there was fruit in the man’s shopping cart.
There was fruit in our conversation.
This kind of fruit cannot be bought.
This kind of fruit is a gift from God.

I have watched grocery workers go through the fruit in the produce section.
I have watched them discard fruit that is no longer fresh.
I have watched them sort through the fruit before them, picking some and leaving others.
Sorting fruit is important.

We are being spoon fed rotten fruit.
We open our mouths and accept it.
We are getting so used to it, we don’t even know how good fruit tastes any more.
There is good fruit; we need to train our pallet to want it.

We need to push the plate away that the media and even the government is serving us.
It is not a partisan issue; it is a human one.
It is time to say, Enough, to the rotten fruit that is our daily serving.
It is time to say, Yes, to Jesus, our Lord and Savior and acknowledge our need of Him.

Only through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, can we produce good fruit.
It is fruit that lasts.
It is fruit that does not spoil.
It is fruit that is nourishing to our souls.

Enough!
It’s just not that hard to be kind.
Kindness is one of God’s fruit, after all.
Are you hungry?

 

One response to “Good Fruit”

1. Amen!

   Reply