Kindness by the very definition is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. That word quality has always stuck out to me. When we imagine anything of materialistic possession, we tend to lean to the cliche of “Quality vs Quantity.” The quality of our kindness is equally important to the quantity of people we come into contact with on a daily basis. Being friendly seems easy enough but when someone is not being friendly toward us, it takes that extra nudge from the Holy Spirit to say, “today I will not give in to flesh and continue to walk in kindness.” Generosity is so much more than purchasing that morning coffee for the car behind you. Being considerate of others places us in line with obedience to the Lord calling us to be selfless.
I love reading my bible in The Message translation. It always hits in just a different way. Romans 12: 9-10 says “Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.” Whew, that’s so good! Love from the center of who you are! Out of the abundance of your heart, soul, depths of it all, pour out your love to others. God says “run” from evil and hold on for dear life to what is good.
In our home, we recently had this very issue come up. Around spring break, we knew God was calling us to pull our boys out of public school and place them on a homeschool curriculum. There were many things lacking in the district they were in, and peace needed to be restored in our home. They had so many questions. “Mom, what do we do if we see our old friends? What if the bullies come up to us in the store?” “How do I answer if my teachers ask me what’s wrong and why we left?” My answer was the same with each question, “Baby Love, you just be kind. Do not respond with hateful comments. Kind words and kind responses. The Bible says a kind answer will turn away wrath, so just be nice.”
As they now get up and get ready for the day, they say this scripture over themselves, “I choose to put on (shirt) compassion, (pants) kindness, (socks) humility, (shoes) gentleness, and (hair) patience.” Colossians 3:12. This is their daily confession. As we prepare for another day, starting it this way just sets the tone for who they come into contact with.
The bible calls all believers brothers and sisters in Christ, and in John 13:34 Jesus gives the commandment to love each other just as He had loved those surrounding Him. In this chapter, first, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. Then He talks about His betrayal, and in the verse where he is telling us to love just as He did, He also gives a glimpse in how one of His beloved followers will deny Him.
Ouch! That one hurts!! Jesus is sitting there telling us to love our brothers and sisters so deeply with the same love as He gave to us, knowing there will be days where we may say or do something we regret. Maybe just like in Peter’s case, we will say those things or do those actions more than one time in the same day. However, there’s always grace in the kindness we show to others. There’s always mercy in the forgiveness of our hearts when we show that kindness and it isn’t received with its proper intention. Each day is a challenge. God knew it would be. But by choosing to cover ourselves in the most beautiful attributes He gave us and beginning our days with, “Today, I will Love like Jesus,” those days won’t be perfect, but each one will be better than the day before. Every interaction we have is another opportunity to show the love of the Father. In actions, in words, in reaction, in silence. It’s all in the choice to be kind.
We want to thank Ashton Riddle for sharing this post.
Women's Ministry 