During the summer I had the chance to visit Chartwell House in Kent, the home of Winston Churchill. Along with the history of Churchill ‘the prime minister’, the house is full of his paintings and possessions of Churchill ‘the man’ ranging from his outdoor swimming pool, he shared with several black swans to the utilitarian all in one boiler suits he would pull on over his pyjamas when required to be ready in the middle of the night. Unlike many stately homes and historic houses Chartwell is different, there is an additional connection and almost a familiarity brought about through the historic knowledge we have of this iconic man. A number of the rooms were filled with gifts and accolades given to Churchill by heads of state, governments, organisations and individuals. These ranged from honorific titles, Nobel prizes, medallions, hairbrushes, painting palettes and of course cigars. He was even sent a lion, a kangaroo, and a platypus. Churchill valued the gifts given, gratefully acknowledged the giver and made use of even the smallest of items. He used a small soft toy panda to reserve the space for books removed from his bookshelf. Churchill never knew the givers of his biggest gift though. In his later years he could no longer afford to keep Chartwell. A group of then anonymous friends came together to buy Chartwell. They gave the estate to the National Trust on the condition Churchill and his wife could live there as long as they wished. The friends bought Chartwell, not to receive recognition or favour but to simply improve the life of a man who had already given so much.
A good friend of mine tells the story of a young man, who out of a random act of kindness paid not only for his meal in a café but the meals of the next table. Little did he know that, that small act caused the people on the table he paid for, to pay for the meals on the next table, and that table to pay for the next. This went on until closing time; with kindness being paid forward.
As a Christian I recognise the tremendous gift that God has given me through Jesus and my relationship with him and like many other believers I like to look for opportunities to bless others (pay this kindness forward). The Bible in Acts 20:35 states that “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Believer or not there is real joy in the act of giving when it is done with pure motives it promotes our own peace. As Churchill put it – ”We make a living by what we get; we give to make a life” – Why not try an anonymous act of random kindness and see how it feels yourself.
