The Pleasing Porpoise: Goodness

You may have never seen this animal, for it lives in the ocean waters with the fish and sharks. But unlike other ocean animals, many porpoises and dolphins enjoy being around people.

Bump! What was that? You turn and see a smooth, dark head poke its rounded nose out of the water and looks at you with curious eyes. This friendly animal likes to play water games, but is also glad to help those in trouble. Dolphins have been known to hold up drowning people, scare away sharks, and even guide boats through dangerous waters!

We can learn kindness and helpfulness from the porpoise. Instead of doing everything for themselves, they want to please others. If many people are around, they are glad to spend time with everyone. When someone needs help, do they first ask, “Will you help me back?” No, they just want to be kind, no matter if the person never helps them. Not everyone is so caring as these animals can be.

This attitude of caring is called goodness. It is easy to be good to those that are good to us. That is called copycatting, isn’t it? If you want to be friends, I’ll be friendly, but if you hit me, I’ll hit you back. Anyone can do that. But God is always good—to everyone. His goodness is much better than the copycat kind. And He can help us be kind and make others happy, even if they are not our friends. When your sister or brother are annoying you, ask God to help you be kind anyway. When we think about how good God is to give us sunshine and rain, health, family, and food, then it is easier to be good to others. When we are kind, it will make others want to be good, too.