“The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he
that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.” (Pr 11:17
AV)
It
is much better to be kind than cruel.
For one’s benefit, it is better to show forgiveness and kindness than to
be bitter and vindictive. What is
interesting here is the use of the word flesh.
It means the pursuit of flesh for one’s health, or figuratively, one’s
kindred. In other words, being kind to
others is better for your health and relationships than it is to be cruel. The state of being cruel is the opposite of
merciful. It means destitute of mercy or
kindness. As Webster’s 1828 dictionary states,
“destitute of pity, compassion or kindness.”
It would be wise to take the advice above to heart. Especially in the times of which we are faced
today.
According
to one article, there are six scientifically proven benefits to kindness. The first is that kindness boosts a hormone
called serotonin. This is the feel-good
hormone released by your body to improve your mood. This feeling is often referred to as the
helper's high. It is what makes us feel
good about ourselves for being nice to another.
Secondly, kindness relieves anxiety.
Those who are kind increase their experiences of joy, interest, and
alertness. Third, kindness also affects
your heart. Being kind released another hormone
called oxytocin. In turn, this hormone
nitric oxide into the blood vessels which dilates them. This lowers blood pressure. Fourthly, kindness can also extend one’s
life. Heart health can be tied to a more
extensive network of family and friends.
The more we have, the longer we seem to live. These relationships are common among the
kind. Fifthly, kindness also reduces
stress. Kindness widens our world beyond
ourselves and our problems, this reducing stress. And lastly, kindness wards off illness. One study suggests volunteering is strongly
associated with lower levels of inflammation.
Oxytocin also reduces inflammation.
Therefore, we see that being merciful and kind does indeed benefit the
soul.
Conversely,
cruelty is bad for health. Of all the
benefits listed above, none would continue for the cruel in heart. In fact, cruelty would result in just the
opposite. Elevated levels of stress and
anxiety. Anger is known as an unhealthy
emotion affecting the health of the heart as it raises blood pressure. Forget about having many beneficial relationships
or experiencing any real joy. The cruel
are so almost for pure enjoyment derived from inflicting pain on another. Rather than serotonin, cruelty often releases
adrenalin. Adrenalin depletion has a
whole lot of symptoms. One of which is
elevated anxiety and depression. This is
why adrenalin junkies have to find a new high and eventually end in a deep
state of depression. They have used up
their adrenalin and have nothing left.
Cruelty is not good for the body, soul, or spirit.
I
know the world has beat the dead horse of the saying, ‘random acts of kindness’. I think the advice is about a bit more than that. Rather then a random act of kindness apart
from what we naturally are, Solomon is sharing with his children the benefits
of being kind as a state of mind. There
is nothing random about it. It is how we
see others. It is how we interact with
others. It doesn’t take a whole lot of
resources which we do not have. Being
merciful can start with greeting everyone with whom we come in contact. A brief ‘hello’ and wishing of a good day
would do it. Opening a door, reaching
for something off a shelf, refusing to hoard, etc. Simple, pleasant, and regular acts of
kindness are what the writer is trying to convey. It would do you a world of good.
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