on kindness

One of this summer’s best-selling books was Humankind: A Hopeful History. It argues that, far from being pre-programmed to be self-centred, the human instinct tends towards kindness and collaboration. Archbishop Desmond Tutu makes a similar point in his book Made For Goodness. If we are created in the image of God, and God is good, then surely goodness is at the core of our being?

Somehow, though, our attention gets drawn towards people who behave badly or violently, creating a skewed impression about humanity. Newspapers are seldom filled with stories about the acts of generosity, self-sacrifice or friendship towards strangers, that make up normal everyday life.

Humankind recounts some research that suggests many troops sent into armed conflict try to avoid firing their weapons. During the American Civil War, men purposely took as long as possible to reload their muskets. One was founded to have loaded up to 23 balls down his muzzle to appear busy. In WW2 an historian accompanied a US battalion. He determined that only 15-25% of servicemen had fired their weapon in a fierce assault on a Pacific island. Many courageously put themselves on the front line and risked their own lives, but drew back from killing others.

We are told that war is part of human nature. But what if it isn’t? What if there’s another way, where nations settle their differences through collaboration and peace-building? A way that is in tune with humanity’s tendency towards kindness, and the example of Jesus Christ.