The boomerang effect of kindness

The boomerang effect of kindness

by Nelly Favis-Villafuerte December 14, 2013

It is heartening to note that there abound in our midst many unnamed, unremembered, and unpublicized acts of kindness. Stories have also been told and retold about acts of kindness showing that kindness always pays but it pays most when we dont do it for pay. In short, the boomerang effect of kindness is not a myth or a fiction as many are prone to believe. It is a reality. It is biblical too. Very clearly and very directly the message of the Holy Bible in scattered verses is simply this: Bless and be blessed. *** Let me share with you a true story about an extraordinary act of kindness done during World War II by a man least expected to do a heroic and courageous act to save no less than 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. I am referring to Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist, formerly a Nazi Party member, a German spy, and a war profiteer. Schindler drank, womanized, gambled, and bribed German government officials and Nazi soldiers to clinch illegal business deals. The life of Oskar Schindler was popularized in the movie Schindlers List (a seven Academy Award winning film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg) and the acclaimed international bestseller book titled Schindler Ark, authored by Thomas Keneally. As the story goes, Schindler set up an enamelware and ammunitions factory in Krakow, Poland. Schindler employed more than 1,200 Jews in his factory. What is puzzling, amazing, and a mystery up to this day is what prompted Schindler, an opportunist who lived a worldly life, to protect his Jewish workers from deportation and death in the gas chambers and in the Nazi concentration camps without regard to the risk to his life, his future, and cost. Initially, Schindler was only interested in the money-making potential of the business. Later, he risked his life, spent his entire fortune on bribes and black market purchases of supplies for his workers. Schindler saved the lives of least 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. *** Nobody really was able to figure out Schindlers motive for devoting his fortunes and his future to saving the lives of the Jews. Let me quote two comments of Schindler as told to the surviving Jews: There was no choice. If you saw a dog going to be crushed under a car, wouldnt you help them? I hated the brutality, the sadism, and the insanity of Nazism. I just couldnt stand by and see people destroyed. I did what I could, what I had to do, what my conscience told me I must do. *** Schindlers extraordinary story was brought to the worlds attention by the testimonies of the grateful surviving Jews that he saved (they were known as Schindlerjews). The testimonies included touching stories about the many small and big acts of kindness of Schindler.

After the war, when Schindler, the industrial tycoon was already penniless, Jewish relief organizations and groups of survivor supported him over the years. After his death in Germany in 1974, the grateful grieving survivors brought the remains of Schindler to Israel and laid Schindler to rest in a cemetery in Jerusalem. The inscription on his grave says: The unforgettable rescuer of 1,200 persecuted Jews. This statement quoted from the Internet described Schindler: What matters to the Jews is that he (Schindler) surfaced from the chaos of madness and risked everything for them. And generations will remember him for what he did. No matter how many businesses Schindler failed in, he was a success in life. *** Like Schindler who took whatever he could to save a Jewish life during the Holocaust, we all have the opportunity in our everyday life to show kindness, compassion, and care to all (friends and enemies alike) who need kindness. Especially the rich and the powerful and the government officials who have astounding resources at their call and beckon. Let us all be refreshed with Proverbs 3:27, KJV that says: Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. *** This column continues to give out copies of the Holy Bible for free to those who cannot afford to buy their own copies. If interested, please send your letter-request to Ms. Nelly Favis-Villafuerte, 5233 Fahrenheit St., Palanan, Makati City. Kindly mention if it is the Tagalog, English, Cebuano, or Ilocano Bible that is preferred. Be joyful and forgiving! (Comments may be sent to Ms. Villafuertes email: villafuerte_nelly@yahoo.com.)