One of the things we all learn early in life is how to be kind. That lesson is usually taught from the treat-others-the-way-you-want-to-be-treated perspective.
- Share your toys if you want others to share with you.
- Be gentle with the dog and he will be gentle with you.
- Say please and thank you if you want others to be polite with you.
After endless repetition with our parents, we eventually learn how to put the needs of others before our own selfish desires.
Until we don’t.
Being kind in the face of rudeness is a challenge. Let’s be honest, our human response to unkindness is…unkindness! Our feathers get ruffled and suddenly the challenge is on to “out-rude” the other with some quippy comeback or I’ll-show-you stunt. Even as adults.
I guess that’s why it is called the gift of kindness.
Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32
Returning hurt with kindness is a gift – offering something that we have to someone in need. It is sacrificial. It is a demonstration of strength. Responding in love requires the Holy Spirit’s power at work within us. And that power is often the kindness that draws His children to repentance.
Each day, sometimes each hour, we have the opportunity to deliver the gift of kindness to others. Sometimes it is easy to deliver kindness with a smile to a stranger or a kind word to a discouraged soul. Other times it is more sacrificial because it comes on the heels of an unkind act. Either way, it requires thinking of another before thinking of ourselves. Preferring another’s heart over the desires of our own. It is something I have the privilege of witnessing in others frequently. And our choice to be kind is exactly the reminder we all need. The reminder from our loving Father that…
You are adored.
You Are Adored 