When my family and I lived in Jos, there was a little mystery about our kitchen window. For some reason, birds loved it. Every morning, they would perch there, chirping joyfully, pecking at the kitchen net until they tore it apart.
At first, it was annoying until we discovered why.
They were using the torn pieces of the net to build their nests.
Sometimes, a bird would get stuck in the net and die if we didn’t notice early enough. But one morning, I walked into the kitchen to the sound of frantic flapping and crying. A small bird had gotten tangled and was fighting for its life, while another bird flew around helplessly, trying to rescue it.
My heart went out to it, and I decided to help.
But each time I reached for it, the bird tried to bite me.
I was only trying to save it, but it didn’t understand. It fought against my helping hand. After a few painful attempts, I grew frustrated and said to myself,
“Why should I help something that wants to bite me?”
Then, right there in the quiet of that kitchen, I heard a gentle voice in my heart say:
“The bird is only acting by its nature, and you are acting by yours.”
Those words melted my heart.
The bird was scared, defensive, and in pain, it didn’t know I was trying to save it. But my nature was to help, to show kindness.
So, I tried again, this time using a stick and spatula, and finally freed it. It flew away, but not before biting me one last time. 😅
At the time, I thought the lesson ended there.
Until recently, when I watched a video that made those words echo louder in my heart.
When Goodness Gets Misunderstood
A man, somewhere abroad, saw a woman about to be hit by a speeding car. She had been so lost in her phone that she didn’t see the danger coming. Acting purely on instinct, he ran into the road and pulled her out of harm’s way....saving her life.
You’d expect gratitude, right?
But instead, the woman sued him for assault and inappropriate touching.
And to everyone’s shock, the court found him guilty.
I sat there watching in disbelief.
My omoh was omohed. My woah was woahed.
I whispered to myself, “What kind of world is this?”
Then I remembered the bird.
How it bit me while I tried to set it free.
How it didn’t understand that my intention was to help, not harm.
And suddenly, it all made sense.
This Is the World We Live In
Sometimes, the people you save will hurt you.
The ones you pray for will mock you.
The ones you lift will accuse you.
The ones you defend will desert you.
And sometimes, kindness will cost you peace, trust, or even safety.
But that shouldn’t make us stop being kind.
It should only make us wiser.
The Bible says,
“Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” – Matthew 10:16
That means kindness must walk hand-in-hand with discernment.
We’re not called to be naïve or gullible; we’re called to be good and guided.
Because true goodness is not reactive ...It’s reflective.
It reflects the nature of the One who made us.
Kindness with Wisdom
So, in a world that rewards cruelty and punishes compassion, still choose to be good...but let wisdom lead your way.
Be kind, but be discerning.
Be open, but be guided.
Keep your heart soft, but guard it.
Because kindness without boundaries can become self-destruction,
but kindness guided by wisdom becomes light in the darkness.
The truth is, goodness will always look foolish to a wicked world.
But no matter how dark it gets, light still wins.
So keep your nature kind, but let wisdom lead your heart.