Kindness is so very powerful.
Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. How would you describe kindness in your own words? Friendly, generous, warm-hearted, soft-spoken; these are all words I would associate with being kind.
When I think of kindness, my Dad always comes to mind. I actually would imagine his face might be in the dictionary beside it. To him, kindness is a way of life.
Throughout my lifetime, my Dads kind gentle spirit has always been shown both inside and outside of our home. He is one of the only people I know that can find good in any situation and in any person. If he had heard someone say something unkind to him, his response was always the same. They didn’t mean it that way. If he would hear me saying something unkind, he would always remind me that we are Christians, and God doesn’t want us to be unkind. If someone stole from him, he would brush it off by saying they must need it more than I do.
And today, especially today, as I watch my Facebook feed overflow with strong opinions on the John MacArthur and Beth Moore situation I can’t help but wonder what my Dad would say.
So I called him, explained the situation to him and asked his opinion.
His answer was “it’s never right to publicly humiliate someone who is also a Christ follower” followed quickly by “we should always be kind, we are called to be as Christians“.
And that, my friends, is the bottom line.
Tearing others down, judging harshly, judging their hearts, making rash and unkind judgments is all wrong.
How would Jesus have handled this? When Jesus encountered people who He felt needed “called out”, first He showed them love.
The first thing He did was love on them. He didn’t publicly humiliate them. HE LOVED THEM! Is it easier to hear criticism from someone if they loved on you first? If they said it with kindness and you knew their heart was in the right place? Absolutely! It’s all about love, kindness and grace. Gods greatest commandment was love one another (John 13:34).
Ephesians 4:32 says And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. And be ye KIND one to another.
Kind. Kind. Kind.
Galatian 5:22-23 says But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit y’all. Like the other fruits of the spirit, it can only be obtained through abiding in Christ. It is an outgrowth of the genuineness of our faith. According to the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, the Greek word translated kindness here is “the divine kindness out of which God acts toward humankind. It is what the [Old Testament] means when it declares that ‘God is good,’ as it so frequently does. Christians should show kindness by behaving toward others as God has behaved toward them.”
Kindness is humbly giving of ourselves in love and mercy to others who may not be able to give anything back, who sometimes don’t deserve it and who frequently don’t thank us for it.
At times kindness can be associated with weakness. But let me tell you, it is anything but. It requires extraordinary strength and courage to show kindness, especially to those who don’t deserve it. And let’s be clear: not a one of us “deserves” it all the time. There are times when responding with kindness has felt like it almost killed this stubborn, hard-headed girl. In those moments, I always think back to my Dad and how he would respond.
Kindness is being friendly, considerate, generous, warm-hearted and gentle. It’s being friendly when the person across from you isn’t, it’s being warm when she’s cold, it’s being soft when the person across from you is hard, it’s giving when she has nothing to give in return, it’s running through the McDonald’s drive-thru to give that homeless person a warm meal and it’s holding your tongue sometimes.
There have been times when I’ve felt that gentle nudge on my heart to extend kindness to someone. I’ve heard echos of you’re naive, you’re being taken advantage of and you’re too easy. My response is always the same. When I feel called to be kind to someone, how I answer that call matters.
As Christ followers, we are to love as He loved us. And His love is always, always wrapped up tightly in kindness. We see time and time again His love offered to undeserving people. A wife who just disrespected her husband, a child who just sassed their parent, a husband who just laughed at an inappropriate joke…in other words, every single one of us.
Hosea 11:4 says I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.
We need to learn to be gentle, sensitive and tenderhearted. When we start being tenderhearted, it’s easy to be kind. Having a heart that is easily touched and sensitive doesn’t mean your weak, although that’s what the world would say. If we are sensitive to those around us, we start seeing their needs instead of our own. Have a loving, tenderhearted, compassionate attitude and let it shine for everyone to see.
We are called to be kind to others because God is kind to us. He loves us when we are unlovable, and He does this over and over again. Kindness is extremely powerful. You can change lives with your actions. You can change lives by your words. You can change lives with your kindness. You can change lives by allowing Christ’s love to shine through you. I’ve watched my Father do all of those things.
Don’t ever be afraid to show your kindness. You might be the one voice in their life at the moment that they need to hear. Your encouragement might be the one thing that keeps them going.
Maybe you are the one who will help them see Jesus through your kindness.
And remember, your words matter.
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