“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV)
“Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4 BSB)
“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12 NLT)
“We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.” (2 Corinthians 6:6 NLT)
Kindness is a rare commodity these days. All I need to do is open social media, or turn on the TV, to immediately see just how rare kindness is in today’s culture. It seems that if I dare share an opinion that in any way disagrees with those working to transform our society, I am immediately labeled a “hater.” From that point on anything I say is considered “hate speech” and my voice is “erased.” Ironically, those who are judging me harshly, and treating me without even a hint of kindness, are the very ones who are propagating acceptance, tolerance, and the need to be judgment free. Where is the kindness?
Before I am tempted to go any farther in pointing my finger at others, let me say something about the 4 fingers on my hand that are pointing back at me. I am a follower of Jesus. I am politically conservative, religiously evangelical charismatic, and hold very traditional values in areas like marriage, sexual orientation, church going, etc. (as my nephew recently pointed out, I am archaic). I fit into a group that has historically been labeled as “fighting fundies” due to our outspoken (and many times adversarial) approach to sharing what we believe. I have always been turned off by the harsh manner in which many of us considered to be on the extreme right express our values to others. For most of my life I have struggled with how abrasive many of my peers can be. I ask myself, and those in my camp, “Where is the kindness?”
Now more than ever, I need to rely on the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of kindness in my heart and mind so that it comes out in what I say and do. It is kindness that opens the door to peoples lives. Kindness creates windows of opportunity to have an impact on those around me.
I rely every minute on…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 46: “I am a Fruit Grower in the Kingdom of Heaven (quality fruit to give away).” Part 6: Kindness