Steadfast, Immovable, Abounding

This is the fifth installment in my series of posts about the fruit of the Spirit.

“Be kind.” You see it everywhere: it’s on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and social media hashtags; it covers laptops and water bottles; it was even on VHS rentals (be kind, rewind, y’all). While there is certainly nothing wrong with the sentiment, I think its popularity has nearly rid it of the deeper meaning it holds. We are so used to hearing about kindness, but do we stop to think about what it really means?  Sometimes it seems kindness has become less about giving and more about receiving. For most of us, being kind makes us feel good and feel comfortable with ourselves, and it can be tempting to chase these pleasant emotions, pursuing kindness for our own sake.

If we take a closer look at the word Paul uses in Galatians 5 – the word we translate as “kindness” – we see a different picture than the world’s. The original Greek noun is “chréstotés.” This is derived from another word which means to be useful or profitable. It refers to meeting the needs of the recipient. Biblical kindness longs earnestly for someone’s good, but not for the self-approbation or pleasant feelings kindness has the power to give. Jesus says in Luke 6:35, “ ‘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 Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.’ ” Our kindness should be motivated by neither praise nor pleasure; it should be a mirror of the great kindness of our God. His kind intentions are always designed for our good, despite our utter ungratefulness. Romans 2:3,4 says “But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” So often, we take God’s kindness for granted. We don’t think about it enough. We aren’t often enough in awe of the kindness that saw our sin yet cared enough for our good to provide an escape. And we aren’t intentional enough about reflecting that kindness to the world.

Kindness isn’t always easy. We aren’t always going to get the response we want or expect when we display Christ’s kindness, but that isn’t the point. As Christians, we must exude kindness—not because it makes us happy, but because the kindness of God is uncontrollably manifested in us. We should so earnestly desire to help the hurting that kindness becomes our natural reaction to their pain. Kindness means we smile in response to the most bitter mood; it means loving those who don’t deserve it, because we realize we deserve God’s love no more than they.

Being kind also means that sometimes we must choose the hard way, because it is the truly kind way. If you’re like me, nothing makes you more uncomfortable than confrontation (particularly when you’re the one initiating the conversation). Yet being kind, seeking the best for those around us, sometimes necessitates being strong about the truth of God’s word. David writes in Psalm 141:5, “Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; it is oil upon the head; do not let my head refuse it.” It seems counterintuitive that we can “smite” someone “in kindness.” Yet this is only because the world has spread the message that it is kinder to leave someone in darkness than to wound their pride. And if we are pursuing kindness because it makes us feel good, we will never truly understand what David is saying—sometimes kindness is painful and anything but easy.

Yet there are times when showing kindness is one of the simplest things in the world. Kindness is being someone’s reason to smile when it’s the last thing they feel like doing. Kindness is washing the feet of those who call you “Master.”  Kindness is wanting so badly for the good of others that we think nothing of our own desires but sacrifice them freely. Peter writes, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord” (1 Peter 2:1-3). I love that last phrase: “you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” God’s kindness makes all the difference. When I realize how great His kindness is, I am burdened with the realization of the shallowness of my own futile attempts at kindness. It is only through the Spirit that any of us can live out God’s kindness, yet with His power, our lives can point the world to the kindness of the cross.