Hi Ladies!
As we continue thru the fruits of the Spirit, I’ll talk about kindness today. When we think about being kind to others, I tend to think of the act of being considerate or helpful. But biblical kindness is an active demonstration of love, mercy and compassion that reflects God’s character. God is kind to us, He provides for our needs, and He gives us things we don’t deserve, such as forgiveness. If we are to be imitators of Christ, then we have to show kindness to others, including forgiveness, and not only to people we like but also to our enemies. Kind words and actions build others up rather than tearing them down. Kindness also can involve generosity.
Kindness should be a way of life for Christians. Luke 6:35 gives a good example of being kind to those who may not deserve your kindness, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” We have to remember that we were all once enemies of God and He showed us kindness while we were still enemies. I doubt any of us feel that we actually deserve God’s kindness and mercy.
God’s word also tells us to be kind to the most vulnerable and not oppress them. Zechariah 7:9-10 says, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” Apparently, even back in Old Testament times, people had trouble showing kindness to the widow, the orphan, the stranger and the poor. It’s easy in our world today to feel that we can’t afford generosity, after all, many people live paycheck to paycheck and have bills to pay and family to provide for. But truthfully, we are very blessed in this country and if you’ve ever traveled to many parts of the world, there is true poverty in so many of those places.
Kind words go a long way. We can show kindness in our words and our actions. Galatians 6:2 tells us to “Bear one another’s burdens”. This doesn’t mean we should go out and do everything for them, it simply means we should help them when their burden is more than they can bear alone.
Putting all of this into practice is the important part. How do we show kindness to others? Luke shows us that forgiveness is a big part of kindness, so we have to remember when someone isn’t treating us the way they should, we still need to forgive them and continue to show kindness to them. We can take the time to speak kindly to those who need a little encouragement. We can show hospitality to strangers. And if we have the means to help someone in need, we can share what we have.
And the ultimate kindness we can show others is to share the gospel with them and invite them to church to hear more of God’s word. So, if you haven’t visited our little church on the hill yet, come join us, it’s worth the drive!
Lori Hug
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